BB In Toyland
by starwenn
Summary: Eight-year-old Barbara Beatrix "BB" Dameron dreams herself into Toyland and helps Poe the Piper's Son, Leia Hubbard, and the other citizens of Toyland defeat the evil Barnaby Snoke, the Black Knight Kylo Ren, and their army of trolls.


**BB In Toyland**

Rating: PG (fantasy violence)

Pairings: Han/Leia, Poe/Rey, Rose/Finn

Disclaimer: The franchise belongs to George Lucas and the Walt Disney Company. I just got back into this fandom after more than a decade away and decided I wanted to play, too.

My name is Barbara Beatrix Dameron, but you can call me BB. Everyone does. (But never call me Babs! I hate that.) I live with my papa Kes, mama Shara, and my sisters and my big brother Poe in a townhouse in Northeastern Philadelphia in 1986. Papa and Mama run a book store with all our aunts and uncles and cousins. We sell a lot of Spanish-language books for people who just moved here, along with English books and some books in other languages, too.

I mostly like riding the Septa buses with Poe to Market Street. Market Street is really fun at Christmas! There's all kinds of decorations and lights and people around, carrying big paper bags with names of all the stores. We even dropped coins into a jar besides a singing group in colorful outfits performing a song I didn't know. Poe lets me look into the windows to see the mannequins in sparkling dresses with lots of sequins and the big thick furs and velvety coats. When I'm older, I'm going to have a really sparkly dress and a fur coat and hat, and I'll look like Joan Collins on the grown-up TV show _Dynasty_.

I told Poe that as we went into Skywalker Department Store. "I'm going to look just like Joan Collins when I grow up," I said as he held the door open for me. "But I won't be mean. She's always fighting with Krystle."

Poe raised an eyebrow. "How do you know that? You're too young for that show, Squirt."

"I'm 8 years old, Poe," I said to him as he opened the second door with the brass trim. "I'm big enough to know stuff. Besides, Mama and our aunts talk about it all the time."

Mama and Papa were busy getting ready for our family Christmas Eve party tonight, so Poe brought me along to Skywalker's Department Store while he works with Mrs. Leia Weston-Solo, the head of the store. It's six stories of everything you could imagine - clothes, books, furniture, candy, electronics, pots and pans. It looks more like a castle than a store, with lots of pretty gold trim and huge sparkly chandeliers and an organ that plays concerts. Every time I go in there, I feel like a real princess. I always say we should take a pumpkin coach there.

"Can we go to the toy department first?" I asked as we got on the escalator.

Poe smiled. I know a lot of girls think his smile's really cute. "Sure, kiddo! You can look at the dolls while I meet my boss, Mrs. Leia Weston-Solo, and Mr. Alexander Snoke."

I frowned. So did my brother. "Who's he?"

"He owns the First Order Value Department Stores." Poe made a face. "They're like Jamesway and K-Mart. Lower-quality stuff than what we sell. Good toy sections, though. I think Mama has taken you to the First Order Value store in South Philly a few times."

We got off the escalator on third floor, which lets you off right in the toy department. It's the most wonderful toy department in Philadelphia, maybe the world! They have all the best toys here. One aisle was all pink, Barbies and Hot Looks and Jem and the Holograms. There were the boys' section with all the G.I Joes and Transformers and MASK. Another row had the science and food stuff, the rock tumblers and Snoopy Sno-Cone Makers. There was another aisle with video games, Nintendos and Ataris and Segas and Mario and Alex Kidd. A little red and green train tootled around the floor. A huge Santa throne surrounded by a mini train and giant fake lollipops sat in the center, though Santa wasn't there. I guess he was getting ready to take the reindeer out for Christmas Eve.

Poe and I had just arrived when we saw a whole group of grown-ups come out of a door behind the . The first was Mrs. Leia Weston-Solo, my brother's boss. She and her brother own the store. She's an older lady in a black-and-white checked suit with a dark red blouse, her gray hair up in braids around her head. I think she's really pretty. She kind of reminds me of the old lady on TV who solves mysteries.

"Mr. Snoke," Mrs. Leia Solo was saying, "Skywalker Department Store has been in my family for over thirty years. My parents, Pamela and Andrew Weston, bought it from Quinton Jenson's family after he died. They ran it together until Father left to start Empire Five and Dime with Stephan Palpatine. After Father and Mr. Palpatine died in a fire, Skywalker's absorbed Empire, and my brother and I took over the management from Marta Mothma."

"I'm aware of the recent history of this business." Mr. Alexander Snoke was ugly. He was tall and wrinkled and looked like Freddy Kruger in a black and gray suit. I was afraid he might pull out claws and start stabbing everybody. "I'm also aware that Skywalker's Department Store has been steadily losing money for nearly two years now. Even after you opened stores the malls at Cherry Hill and Exton Square, you're still in the red. Your inventory is overpriced and your sales can't compete with ours or other value chains like Zayre and Ames."

"We're working on ideas for that." My brother gave Snoke the same look he gives Papa when he argues with him over missing family events for store meetings. "Our plans for the next two years should increase profits by nearly thirty percent by the end of 1988."

"That's not enough." The tall young man with the black hair was also skinny, but he was a lot better-looking than Snoke. He had a long thin nose and big brown eyes that reminded me of Miss Leia's. "Mother, come on! Malls are the wave of the future, Mother. Value is the wave of the future. This old barn has seen its day. I say we should sell the store and company, tear this down, and build something new and up-to-date, or at least drop a few departments and restructure our business model."

Miss Leia gave the young man a look that sure scared me, but didn't seem to scare him at all. He just gave her a lazy smirk. "I've been to one of those First Order Value stores, Ben. Shoddy merchandise, barely-paid employees who know nothing about what they're selling and are nasty to customers, maybe two registers opened at one time with outdated computers to save money on running costs."

Another thin guy, this one with red hair that was so slicked down, it looked like a shiny red rock, raised his hand. "Mrs. Solo," he said with an accent that sounded like it should have been on PBS, "as your lawyer, I think it's in yours and Mr. Weston's best interest to sell the chain. Take the money and retire somewhere warm and tropical. You and your husband could take a nice, long vacation."

"That's right." Ben gave his mother a smile that wasn't very nice. "How is Dad? Is he still running around with Laurence Callman and all his old gambling buddies in Atlantic City? Or is he off racing boats somewhere in the Pacific?" He crossed his arms. "And why isn't Uncle here? Still hiding in the toy department somewhere? He's going to have to stop being a hermit someday."

Miss Leia was really mad. She looked like she wanted to take Ben and spank him, even though he was twice her size. If Mama looked at me like that, I'd be running for the Drexel Hills. "Mr. Weston and Mr. Solo are at work."

"And my Uncle Larry and I live on Rittenhouse Square nowadays." Finn gave them a look from the teddy bears. "He owns a couple of nightclubs here and in Atlantic City."

The smaller guy with the black hair shuffled papers. He looked like a little black mouse in a gray suit. He had little eyes and a nose that kept twitching. "As your accountant, I've been going over your books, Mrs. Solo. It would seem that someone is skimming from the company."

I didn't know what that meant, but it didn't make Miss Leia happy. "Mr. Mitaka, I know everyone who works here, and I can assure you that..."

"I've seen some suspicious activity in his paychecks." Ben pointed at Poe. "I wouldn't be surprised if that little Hispanic kiss-up's been sticking his fingers in the till."

My brother said something in Spanish that Papa yells at me for saying, then went on angrily in English. "I would never steal from this company, Mr. Solo. Your mother raised my salary because my family needs the money."

Now I thought he were just being mean. I got so mad, I went right into the meeting room and said so. "That's not true!" I stomped right up to Ben Solo. "My brother's not a thief!"

"What is this?" Snoke looked at me like I was something gross on his shoe. "Why is that child here?"

I gave my best "Papa is mad" look to Benjamin Solo. "You take it back! Poe's never hurt anyone in his life! I'll bet you're the thief!"

"A thief? Me?" Benjamin made a face, wrinkling his long nose. "I'm the vice-president of the store. I work here, too."

"You," Mr. Snoke snarled to me in his raspy old voice, "are a meddling brat who should keep her nose out of things that don't concern her."

Poe had a fist out. Uh oh. Even Mama's rules about fighting won't stop Poe when he's really mad. "Don't you talk to my sister that way!"

Miss Leia put one hand on my shoulder and took Poe's fist with the other. "Under the circumstances, Mr. Snoke," she said in a voice that would have frozen the Schuylkill River in the middle of July, "I think you had best leave. We'll continue the negotiations in January, after the holidays."

"Very well." He handed Miss Leia a thick stack of papers. "Some light reading for your vacation. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." Miss Leia turned to the others as soon as Snoke left. "Hux and Mitaka, we'll discuss the books the day after Christmas." She then went to her son as they walked out. "As for you Ben, I can't believe you'd even think of saying something like that about an employee and family friend, especially in front of the owner of one of the top department store chains in the country!"

"You know I wouldn't steal from Mrs. Solo!" Poe exclaimed. "That money was a bonus for a job well done."

"See?" Ben waved his finger at my brother and me. "How come he gets a bonus and I don't?"

"You don't have a family's you're providing for." Miss Leia narrowed her eyes. "Not to mention, as junior vice-president of the company, you also get a larger salary than him."

"So there!" I added, even though I'm pretty sure our vice-president is named Mr. Bush, and he's a lot older than Benjamin.

"Mother, why don't you just listen to me?" Benjamin's voice was getting even more whiny. "I don't know why you won't cut more departments. We don't need the book department anymore, or electronics and records, or the toys. There's other, cheaper places for people to buy them."

"You can't drop the toy department!" I wailed. "That's the best part of coming here!"

"What about all those jobs?" Poe took my hand. "And I happen to like the book department myself. If I can't find it at my parents' store, I can find it here."

"If we can't raise our revenue, all those people will lose their jobs anyway." Benjamin sniffed. "The only reason you want to hang on to the toy department is because Uncle Luke hides there. Is he still trying to invent paper airplanes?"

Miss Leia gave him that freezing glare again. "Why don't you check his office and find out? If you see him, tell him I need to talk to him and that he needs to stop hiding. I can't blame him for wanting to avoid Snoke, but he's the senior vice-president of this company."

"We'll find him." Poe patted my shoulder. "This is my sister BB. I told my parents I'd keep an eye on her tonight, since I'm just helping on the third floor."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, BB." Miss Leia leaned over to shake my hand.

I turned my eyes up to Poe. "Can we go see the toys now?"

Poe and Miss Leia laughed. "I think we'd better." Poe took my hand. "Finn and Rey are waiting for me, and I need to talk to Snap and Kaydel. We shoud probably give Luke a heads-up that Ben is coming his way, too." He smiled at his boss. "It was nice of you to come to my parents' party tonight. We love having you and your husband there."

When Miss Leia smiled, her eyes crinkled, and she lit up the whole room. "We wouldn't miss it. Your mother makes the best chili rellenos in the whole city." She patted my head. "Go look at the toys, while they're still there to look at. And Merry Christmas!"

"I like her," I told Poe as we went to the girl's toys aisles. "She's the most beautiful old lady I've ever seen." He smiled as he lead me to the dolls. "I wish her son was as nice as his mom. Why did he accuse you of stealing? You'd never steal!" I giggled. "Except that one time I caught you sneaking churros from the Goya cracker tin in the cabinet in the kitchen."

"Ben has a lot of problems." Poe sighed. "His mom and dad weren't always around for him when he was little. He doesn't have a lot of aunts and uncles to watch over him like we do. He got sent away to a lot of boarding schools. He thinks his mama and papa don't love him, and he has to be mean to get their attention."

"That's not an excuse," I grumbled. "It's not nice to pick on people!"

"You know that, and I know that," Poe frowned. "Ben doesn't. I will give him some credit. He is smart, and he does have some good ideas, but I don't think cutting so many departments is going to help. This store used to be even bigger. When I was your age, it was nine stories, not just six. They sold the upper stories to other offices. We can't cut too many more departments, or we won't be selling anything at all."

Finn and Rey were tossing stuffed animals onto a shelf. "Hi Poe!" Finn has a great big smile that makes him look like a happy puppy. He was wearing a blue and red sweater with a giant snowman on it. "We're just about done with the new Steiff teddies, then do the video games. Nintendo's huge. My uncle Larry let me open mine for an early Christmas Eve present. We got so caught up playing _Super Mario Brothers,_ I was almost late for work!"

"We got ours as a family Easter present. I like _Legend of Zelda_ myself. I've played that for hours with BB. She reads the map for me, right BB?" Poe gave me his own smile. I saw Rey blush out of the corner of my eye when he smiled.

"Right! I'm a good reader. I'm ahead of my class in school." I took Rey's hand. "Do you want to hear me read? I can read big kids' chapter books now. I just read one called The Pigman. It was kind of sad. It was about two kids who make friends with a lonely old man."

Rey's eyes widened. "But that's for teenagers! And you can already read that?"

"Uh huh." I nodded. "I'm the best in my class at reading."

"Someday, I'll have to have you read to me." Rey started putting teddy bears on the shelf. "But not tonight. Tonight we have to get these teddy bears on the shelves"

"They're so cute!" I hugged a brown bear with big eyes and a red bow. "Can I have one, Poe?"

"Not tonight." He gave me a big grin. "Right now, why don't you go look at the She-Ra and Golden Girl dolls? I'll catch up with you in a minute. I'm going to help Finn unload the Nintendos."

"Ok!" I went around the corner to look at the action figures. Golden Girl is kind of like She-Ra, only with a gem theme instead of a fantasy theme. I like them, too. Sure, Barbies are fun to dress up, but they don't fight Catra and Hordak and the Moth Lady. She-Ra and Golden Girl have outfits and hair you can brush AND swords.

I was trying to decide whether I liked Mermista or Rubee better when I saw Ben come skulking into the

toy department. Oh boy. What did he want? He looked a lot happier than he did before. Too happy, if you asked me. I peeked around a shelf with the Crystal Castle and Crystal Falls on it, trying to hide behind the boxes so the adult kids wouldn't see me, but I could hear them.

"Hello there, Miss Kennally." Ben's grin was kind of goofy. "Working diligently, I see."

Rey turned to the teddy bears and ignored him. "Which is more than can be said of you."

"You know, one of the heads of this company." Ben crossed his arms and looked smug. "I could fire you for saying that."

"And I could sue your rear end off for harassment." Rey shoved a teddy bear into his arms. "Why don't you do something useful, for a change?"

"You're so smart, Rey." Ben tossed the teddy bear on the shelf, but he was really paying attention to her. The teddy bear landed with a pile of bunnies. "You could do so much more than labor in this dingy little department. I've got tons of ideas that will revolutionize the industry..."

"Why don't you tell them to someone who wants to hear them?" Rey turned her back on him, looking over a list on a clipboard.

Ben pushed his way in front of her. "I could be your teacher. Just give me a chance."

"I'm not interested." Rey stepped away from him. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to finish this."

"Come on, Rey!" Ben was almost whining. "You need a teacher. I need an assistant."

"Please go away." She was making marks on her clipboard. "I'm very busy. And no, I'm not going on a date with you, either. You've asked me three times in the last week! I'm not interested!"

Ben grabbed her arm. "I could make it very unpleasant here for you if you don't, Miss Kennally."

"Bothering Miss Kennally, Mr. Solo?" Poe popped up just as I hurried out from behind the boxes. "The lady said she wasn't interested."

"He was!" I made a face at Ben. "She doesn't like you. Can't you take a hint? When a girl says 'no,' she means 'no, you're a bully, leave me alone.'"

Ben's glare was almost as icy as his mother's. "I'm starting to not like you, little girl."

"Good! I don't like you, either!" I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Why don't you lay off the ladies?" Poe pushed himself in front of Ben. "I've heard you've been bothering Rey for months now. And I don't like you talking to my sister that way. She's an 8-year-old child!"

"I was just asking her to change departments. The toy department is on the way out. I thought she might want to have a job." Ben pointed at me. "And your sister is a brat."

"So are you!" I yelled back. I was really steamed now! How dare he call me a brat when he's a lot worse!

"Mr. Solo, please leave." Poe's lips went up in a little smirk. "Or I'll call the security guard."

"I really don't feel like dealing with him at the moment." Ben wrinkled his nose. "Don't think this is over Dameron, because it isn't." He put his nose in the air and ran into a giant teddy bear. I giggled as he managed to shove the bear aside and stomp off.

"Poe, that was very sweet of you," Rey began, "but I can take care of myself."

"I was just...worried, that's all. As your co-worker. Ben can be pretty intense." He just kept looking at her in that goofy way he gets when he thinks a girl is cute. "You were handling him pretty well. In fact, I admire that about you. You're tough. Nothing gets you down."

"Really?" Now Rey was smiling. She looked even prettier when she smiled. She wore a red-and-green Santa sweater and a pretty pleated green skirt. "I sort-of admire you, too. You're a hard worker, you're funny, and you're kind. You're looking after your kid sister for your parents. Not many people would take their sisters to work with them, especially on Christmas Eve."

"You know, I wouldn't mind getting to know you better." Poe leaned against the shelf, trying to look cool. "Maybe you and me and Finn could get together for lunch at Reading Terminal Market sometime next week? We could get gyros and talk about anything but the store."

Rey's smile was blinding now. "That would be nice, Poe. Finn and I have been so busy with work, we haven't had the chance to really eat together for a while, ever since he moved in with his uncle."

"Poe!" Kay, a small girl with long blond hair who is a friend of Rey's, came hurrying over. "I don't believe this. I lost my inventory! I can't find the box with the stuffed sheep anywhere! If Miss Phasma finds out I lost them, I know I'll into trouble!"

"Calm down." Poe patted her on the shoulder. "Why don't we check the stock room and see if we can find the box? It has to be somewhere."

He bent over me, trying to give me the same smile he always gives our parents when he wants out of something. "You're small, sis. You can help us look for the them. You can reach under places we can't get to."

"Well, ok." I nodded. "I'd like to help. Just as long as I can go back to the She-Ra dolls later. I haven't decided what Santa should bring me yet!"

"Well, well." I had just ducked behind the toy department counter when I saw a lady in silver heels and shiny silver pants walk in. "And what is this?" the lady boomed with a voice as deep as my papa's.

I moved a box of Barbies so I could see better. The lady was the tallest female person I'd ever seen. Her spiky high heels just made her look even bigger. She wore a silvery pantsuit with a wide black belt and shoulder pads that made her look more like a linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles. Her short hair was very pale blond and set in stiff waves that probably took a gallon of hairspray. She waved her blood-red nails at the piles of boxes my brother and Kay left of the floor. "I thought you were doing inventory, Miss Connix, not making a mess."

"We were looking for something, Miss Phasma." Poe tried to give her his easy smile. "We'll only be a minute. We promise."

"Very well. But you'd better put everything back," Miss Phasma huffed. "I don't want to be cleaning up after you the day after Christmas."

"We will!" My brother's tried to grin. "By the way, is that a new outfit?"

"Stow it." Miss Phasma narrowed her eyes. "I know you have Miss Kennally and Mrs. Solo wrapped around your little finger, Dameron. I'm not that easy. I'll be keeping my eye on both of you. You, Miss Connix, are far too easily distracted. Yesterday, you lost your scissors. Last week, it was a shipment of Centurions. One more lost item, and I report you to Mrs. Solo and Mr. Weston. Got that?"

"Ye...yes, Miss Phasma." Kay turned red as Phasma stormed off. "We have to find it, Poe!" the poor girl wailed. "I could lose my job!"

"Phasma's just blowing hot air. You're a good saleswoman, Kay. People like you." My brother shook his head at all the boxes stacked around him. "But no one will like us if we don't get these cleaned up. Let's get going."

"We'll help." Finn started going through boxes. "I'm done with the teddy bears, anyway."

Rey tossed her pens and pencils aside. "And if I look at another word on that clipboard, I think I'll go cross-eyed."

"Can I go check the aisles for the boxes, Poe?" I asked him, trying to look innocent. "Maybe someone mistook them for She-Ra and Jem toys."

He laughed and gave me a hug. "You nut! You just want to go look at She-Ra again."

"Maybe we could compromise." Rey nodded at the shelves. "You can look at the toys, but only the ones near the counter."

"You have to come back here in ten minutes if you don't find them," Poe added.

"Ok!" I started towards the She-Ra dolls again. I was peeking around Sweet Bee and the boxes with the horses when I heard people arguing in back aisle with all the board games and building sets. "I wonder what that is?" My feet tip-toed along the worn tan floor. They were so loud, I couldn't help hearing as I peered around a corner.

"Uncle," that whiny Ben Solo was saying, "why won't you listen to me? If we eliminate the toy department, you'll have all the time in the world to work on your new toy ideas." That skinny bully gave him the mean smirk again. "Besides, you may not have the money to pay everybody. Someone's been skimming money off the company. You barely have enough to keep running."

Miss Phasma and Hux and Mitaka were there, too. "Mr. Weston," Miss Phasma boomed, "I'm leaving after the holiday season. What these men are saying makes sense. And if someone's stealing from the company..."

"We'll make the payroll this month, Miss Phasma." Mr. Weston was small like my brother, but a bit bigger around. He had short, grayish hair, a thick gray beard, and a little round belly like Santa's...but it wasn't shaking with laughter now. "Ben, I don't know how that money went missing." His blue eyes flicked towards Hux. "You and Mr. Mitaka were supposed to be keeping an eye on our accounts. Maybe you could tell us how you figured this out."

Mr. Mitaka opened and closed his mouth, but Mr. Hux just raised his long nose and sniffed. "That is confidential, Mr. Weston." He looked at his watch. "Oh dear. It's getting so late! I really have to get home and feed my cat before I go to my parents' house for their party."

He elbowed Mr. Mitaka, who was still gaping like a fish. "Oh yeah," he said quickly. "I have to iron my dog." Hux rolled his eyes, and I tried not to giggle.

"Uncle, the best thing you could do would be to sell." Ben leaned right at him. "Then you could forget all this."

"Ben, I have a headache." Mr. Weston rubbed his temple. "Could we please discuss this after the holidays, when we're less busy?"

"Fine!" Ben snapped. "Maybe you'll listen to me then!" He and his friends stormed into the next aisle. I couldn't help hearing his voice as they went past the other shelves. "We won't be here next month. We'll be at Mr. Snoke's corporate headquarters in Boston, making deals with someone who actually listens."

"He's offered us three times as much money to be his lawyer and accountant as your mother." Hux sounded smug. "And even more if we get her and the old geezer to sell."

"And I'll finally be a vice-president," Phasma grumbled, "not some low-level manager. Those fuddy-duddy Westons don't understand my talents."

"I'll have enough money to finally get away from this dumb store." Ben's whine could probably be heard half-way to Camden. "We'll see how well they do when they can't pay their employees or for the lighting or heating in this rock heap." They were getting further away. "I'll bet, if Grandpa Andrew was still alive, he wouldn't have let things get this bad! He'd listen to me!"

Oh no! I had to tell someone. Ben and Hux and Phasma were the ones who stole that money, not my brother! No sooner had I turned to find Mr. Weston than I almost ran into someone who was coming from the escalators.

"Ouch!" I jumped aside as the girl dropped her box. It landed with a clatter. "I'm sorry, Miss..."

"Rose." The girl leaned over and started picking up her tools. I helped her out, putting the hammer and screwdriver in the box. "Rose Tico." Rose was cute and round, with plump pink cheeks under the grime and exotic almond-shaped eyes, like my Rockers Barbie doll Dana. She wore dirty overalls and a t-shirt with Drexel University on it. "Thank you, kiddo. Say, where's your folks?"

"I'm here with my brother." I pointed to Poe at the counter. They were stacking boxes, probably hoping one would have the stuffed sheep. "That's him over there." I brushed off my white dress with the high collar and ruffles and orange sash. "How come you're here?"

"I was fixing the escalator going down to the next floor," Rose explained. "They're always breaking down. I get a lot of jobs here because my sister Paige works in Housewares." She shrugged. "It makes money for school. What I really want to do is become an engineer and build escalators. Or maybe I'll do something fun, like design toys."

"You should do that!" I'd never met someone who wanted to make toys who wasn't an elf. "Have you talked to Mr. Weston? I heard Ben Solo say he makes toys. Maybe he'd like your ideas."

"I don't know." Rose's round cheeks turned all...well, rosy. She wasn't really watching me. She was watching Finn shelve Little People houses. Finn's sweater was coming up, and you could see his strong back. "I don't really work here. I just get repair jobs sometimes."

I'd seen that look on her face before. It was the same goofy stare Poe has when he's drooling over Rey. "You like Finn, don't you?" I giggled. "Why don't you go up and say 'hi?'"

"Oh, I...I could never do that!" Now Rosie was really rosy. She held her tools up to her chest, as if to protect her. "He's so...him...and I'm just...well, me."

"I think you're nice!" I nodded at Finn. "Go over and talk to him! It couldn't hurt."

"Well...ok." Rose was still clutching her tools to her chest when she inched slowly over to Finn. I thought about following her, but then I remembered I needed to find Poe and tell him about Ben and his friends and them forcing Miss Leia to sell.

The first person I saw in the hall between the shelves and the back offices and storage area was a tall policeman and a big brown dog on a leash. The dog had so much brown fur, he looked more like a furry mountain with paws. His owner was big and shaggy, too. He was much taller than me, with thick silvery hair under a shiny policeman's hat. When I looked up at him, I saw greenish-gray eyes that twinkled and a lazy little smirk that I knew I'd seen somewhere before. There was a patch on his pale blue shirt that said "security guard," and a tag on his chest that said "H. Solo."

"Hey there, kid," he said in a deep, grouchy voice. "Where's your parents?"

"They're at home, getting ready for their Christmas Eve party. I'm here with my brother Poe." I laughed as the big dog sniffed at me, shoving his nose right at my chest. "Silly dog! You tickle!"

"His name is Chewbacca. He's a good old dog. We've been a team for years." His smile got a little bigger. "Aw, go ahead, kid. You can pet him. I think he likes you."

"Well, ok." I ran my fingers through his messy fur. I'd never felt such soft fur. "I need to get back to my brother, or find Mr. Weston or Miss Leia. I heard something really, really important."

"That important, huh?" He gave me that little smile again. "I can take you to him. We've been friends for a long, long time." He looked over his shoulder as the little Santa man with the short gray hair and thick mustache came down the hall. "Hey kid, look what I found, roaming in the hall."

"There you are!" Mr. Weston smiled. His smile was warm like his sister's, and it made him look at least ten years younger. "Poe told me he was looking for you. He and Rey have to help a customer with their order. He said he's going to be a few more minutes. I'm supposed to take you to my office until he's ready to go."

"Well, ok." I wasn't sure, but he was my brother's boss. "I have to tell you something, anyway..."

"Tell me in a few minutes, all right?" He nodded at Officer Solo. "Tell Poe I have his sister in my office. I'll keep an eye on her there."

Mr. Weston's office was a small room, barely bigger than a closet, but it was filled with all kinds off stuffed. Every shelf held dolls or toy soldiers or wind-up cars or tops. "Wow!" I'd never seen so much stuff. "This is really great. May I look at the toy soldiers?"

"Please do!" He handed me one of the little tin figures. "I designed them myself. I wanted to sell them in the store, but Leia says they're too old-fashioned."

"Well, I like them!" I turned the soldier over in my hand. He wore a red, gold, and black uniform with shiny buttons, and carried a tin gun that was almost as big as him. "I wish he was as big as a real soldier. Wouldn't that be cool? Mr. Solo could have help guarding the store!"

Mr. Weston grinned. "He does complain a lot about needing more help. He says he feels like we're hiding him in the dungeon or something." The older man sighed, his smile vanishing. "I don't think most people are interested in toys like him anymore. They want electronic toys and video games that make noise. I'm starting to wonder if that toy soldier and I are really out of step."

"Not every kid likes electronic stuff!" I reassured him. "My favorite toys are my She-Ra dolls. They don't make noise." That was when I remembered what I needed to do. "Mr. Weston," I began, "I heard your nephew Ben Solo talking a couple of minutes ago..."

"Luke?" Poe poked his head in the door. He grinned when he saw me. "BB! Good, Mr. Weston, you found her. We're still looking for that missing box of stuffed sheep, and a customer wanted to make an exchange and asked to talk to you. BB, you stay here. I'll be around for you as soon as we figure this out."

"I'll be there in a minute, Poe!" Mr. Weston sighed. "We'll continue this in a few minutes, ok, BB?"

"But..." I didn't get the chance to say anything else before he left. Poe did say to stay in the office, but this was too important to wait! I ducked out the door after him.

"Mr. Weston?" I had no idea which direction he and Poe went to. "Poe? Rey? Finn? Officer Solo?"

I came out by the big train that runs around the toy department on its own track. There was no one there now. A sign by the train's entrance said "Sorry, conductor is out to lunch."

I sat down in the very front of the train. "I guess I'll just wait here for the conductor to come back." I've always liked the train in the toy department. It looks like an old-fashioned train, with red cars and a green engine and a black caboose. It was nice and quiet here, not busy like in the front.

"Maybe I'll just close my eyes for a few minutes," I murmured with a yawn. "Mama said I should take a nap before the party anyway." I leaned back on the hard black benches and relaxed a little. I'd tell Mr. Weston what Ben and his friends said in a few minutes, and he would tell Miss Leia, and they would save the store. My brother and Rey and Finn and Rose wouldn't lose their jobs. I wondered if my brother got somewhere with Rey, or if Rose talked to Finn? She seemed really nice.

"I wish I could tell Ben why he should keep the toy department," I yawned as I curled against the side of the train. "I wish I could go to a place that was nothing but toys! That would show him how important toys are!"

It wasn't hard to nod off over here. It was so much quieter. You just heard the sound of people's voices behind you, and their footsteps, and the swaying of the train, and the clickety-click as the wheels moved along the track...

Wait? Clickety-click? The train wasn't moving! Unless...

My eyes flew open. When I looked around, I didn't see the store, or even the city. We were nowhere near Philadelphia. The train was riding through a beautiful green countryside, with rolling hills and shining blue lakes. I could even see the ocean from where we were, glowing in the bright sunlight, with the tops of tall old boats peering over the hills.

When I peered around the other side, I noticed a thick, dark forest, filled with scary black trees. I shivered. I wouldn't want to go in there! Towering over the forest was a huge castle. It was ugly and crooked, with a jagged tower reaching into the blue sky. For a minute, I wondered if I was in Eternia and that was where Hordak and Catra lived. We went under a tunnel made of shiny silvery rock, and the black forest and castle and green hills vanished.

The train looked a lot bigger now, with four walls and a ceiling with pretty pictures of flowers and ladies in fancy gowns painted on it. There were other people with me, too. They wore outfits out of my storybooks, with long flowery skirts in bright spring colors and lots of lace. The ladies had their hair in curls or held back with ribbons. The men all had longish hair and wore darker colors, with tight pants and long tunics with flowing sleeves. They reminded me of the _Robin Hood_ show on Showtime.

"Next stop, Toyland Town!" The conductor wore a stiff navy uniform with shiny brass buttons and carried a big gold pocket watch. He had silvery hair and a beard, and his blue eyes twinkled. He looked really familiar. "Are you getting off at the Sheep Meadow, young lady?"

"I...I guess." I shrugged. "I don't know where I'm going. I just...sort of appeared here. Does this train go to Philadelphia, sir?"

"I'm afraid not. I don't think that city is on our line. Toyland Town is our last stop." He pulled out a hole puncher. "I need to see your ticket, Miss."

Now I really felt embarrassed. My face got all hot, and I know I turned red. "I don't have a ticket, sir. I don't even know how I got here."

"Then you'll have to get out at the next stop." At least the conductor didn't look angry. "Talk to the man at the ticket counter. He'll help you."

He held my hand and helped me get off the train. I couldn't believe my eyes when I stepped onto the platform. Everything around me was made of candy. The platform was chocolate. The building was gingerbread, with a roof made of pastel Neccos. The trees looked like real trees, but their leaves were fluffy, like green cotton candy. The train tracks were gingerbread, too, and the metal lines were thick licorice ropes. It was all I could do to not break off a piece of the train station like Hansel and Gretel.

"Sir?" I went up to the ticket counter. "Can you tell me when the next train is to Philadelphia?"

I was really surprised when the old man popped up...and he looked just like the conductor! Same blue eyes, same gray beard. Only his hair was neatly clipped and under a shiny visor, and he wore a tight blue vest and pocket watch over a snow-white shirt instead of a jacket. "Philadelphia?" He opened up a map that was so long, it trailed on the floor. "Nope, never heard of that city."

"But I have to get to Philadelphia!" My lips started to trembled. I really didn't want to cry right now, so I bit my lip to stop it. "My brother's in big trouble, and I have to tell somebody!"

His pink lips turned down, and he looked genuinely sad to me. "You seem like a good girl. Not many children would want to help their brother like that." He pointed to the street. "Talk to Mother Leia Goose. She's helping everyone get ready for the Christmas Festival tonight. When you get there, take the left path. If Mother Goose can't help you, maybe one of her apprentices can."

"Oh, thank you, sir!" I waved as I went off the platform. "Bye! Thanks again!" He was still waving at me as I stepped onto the street.

I couldn't believe my eyes. Everything around me was either made of candy, or was something out of a book of nursery rhymes or fairy tales, or both. The houses that were gingerbread or cake were little cottages with Necco roofs, or they were giant shoes or barns or made of straw or sticks or bricks. One shop was a giant pie, with a bored-looking young man leaning against a counter stacked with all kinds of pies. Another shop was a giant teapot. Several buildings were made to look like Spanish adobe homes; others had onion-shaped domes, like in Arabian Knights stories, or were triangular houses from Heidi. Everyone was dressed the same as the people in the train, in bright-colored costumes out of _Fairie Tale Theatre_. I expected Shelly Duvall to come out and introduce tonight's story any minute!

I followed the hard candy cobblestone road from the train station into town. There was a busy square that reminded me a lot of Market Street. The gingerbread buildings here were much bigger, and people walked to and fro, carrying bags and buying fruit and nuts from push-cart vendors in the street. Others sold pretty dresses or food or nuts or books at booths covered with brightly striped tents. I hoped one of those men sold soft pretzels. My tummy rumbled as I passed on.

The tallest Christmas tree I'd ever seen towered over everything. There were green garlands with pink ribbons and big wreaths made of gumdrops on all the street signs. People were putting up decorations or helping an older woman in a tall pointy hat and dark purple dress hang wreaths and holly on doors.

"Hello? May I help you?" I jumped and turned around. A pretty girl stood behind me, her brown hair pulled back into three buns held with ribbons and flowers. Her green dress had flowers on it, too, in reds and yellows. She wore it over a ruffly white blouse with puffy sleeves, tied in front with tight red ribbons, with a black fabric band around one arm. A wicker basket filled with pretty flowers dangled from one arm. Her apron was bright yellow with tiny red flowers on it. "Are you all right, little girl?"

"Uh, hi." I gave her a smile. "I hope you don't mind me being here! I'm looking for Mother Goose. Are you Mother Goose? You don't look like the lady in my little sister's books."

The girl laughed. She had a nice laugh, very sweet and warm. "No, I'm not Mother Goose. My name is Rey Quite Contrary. I take care of the Cockleshell Gardens around Goose Manor. What's yours, little miss?"

I put out my hand. "I'm Barbara Beatrix Dameron, but you can call me BB." When she just stared at my hand, I grabbed it and shook it. "That's what we do when you meet someone new in Philadelphia."

"All right, BB," Rey gave my hand a firm shake. "Why do you wish to see Mother Goose?"

"I need to get home," I began, "and the man at the ticket counter told me Mother Goose might be able to help."

She smiled, a wide, warm smile...and one that was very familiar. I knew that smile. "Come on. I'll take you to see her."

"Miss Rey," I asked, "why do you have that black band? It doesn't go with your dress."

Rey's sweet smile dropped into a sad frown. "We're wearing arm bands because Mother Leia Goose's husband, Han Shaftoe, was lost at sea a few weeks ago."

"Oh!" I saw the tears in Rey's eyes. "I'm so sorry. Was he your Papa?"

"He wasn't my real father," the girl said softly, "but he was like a father to me. He's the one who offered me this job. I used to work for a mean old man who owned a junk yard, but Han Shaftoe found me and took me away from that." She pulled out a lacy white cloth and wiped her eyes. "I guess I'm not quite over it yet." She smiled again, but it didn't look as real. "Mother Goose has been working so hard, trying to make everything perfect for our Christmas Festival and Santa's arrival. I think she could use the distraction."

"Is she like the president?" I asked as I followed her down the chocolate brick path.

"I don't know what a 'president' is, but she and the Toymaker are in charge of Toyland Town." Rey lead me to the front of the house. "They own the Toyland Toy Factory down the road, too. It used to belong to them and Han Shaftoe, but no one knows what will happen to Han's share now that he's gone."

My eyes got big as Rey brought me to the lady in the tall hat. It was Miss Leia! She wore a dark purple velvet dress and had the black arm band and gold-rimmed glasses, and there were white frills under her tall purple hat and white roses and ribbons on the brim. Otherwise, it was the same lady who was my brother's boss! She even had the same gray hair in braids around her head and big brown eyes.

"All right, boys, that should be enough." She was reading over a list that was so long, it stretched to the ground. "Hello there, Rey Quite Contrary!" She looked down at me and smiled. "Well there, what's your name?"

"I'm Barbara Beatrix Dameron," I told her, standing up as straight as I could. After all, she was Mother Goose, and a very important grown-up. "But everyone calls me BB. I need to get home to Philadelphia. The ticket seller said you might know how."

"Well, BB, why don't we talk to my brother, the Toymaker?" Mother Goose smiled. She had a nice, gentle smile, just like Miss Leia's. "He knows Santa personally. You might be able to get a ride home on his sleigh."

"Santa?" I gasped. "You mean, he's really real? Some of the kids at school said there's no Santa. I knew they were just trying to be cool!"

"I don't know what Santa has to do with cooling off," Mother Leia admitted, "but he's as real as you and me."

"That should be it." My eyes got even wider when Rey's friend Finn dropped down from a post. He was exactly the same, only he wore a white blouse with a long gold vest and tight brown trousers and high, soft black boots and the same black arm band. "I just tied the last bow, Mother Goose. I sure hope Santa appreciates what we're doing here."

"I think he will, Finn!" I insisted. "I love your decorations! It's even prettier than my parents' house. They have lights on the windows and on the railing on our steps, and a big wreath on the door with a red bow. Did you do this all by yourself?"

"Nope!" He nodded at another young man in a striped suit with short pants and a white shirt with a bow. His black band could just be seen behind the wreath he was hanging. "Little Snap Horner helped me, before he has to deliver his Christmas Plum Pie." The young, dark-skinned man looked down at me with a frown. "How do you know my name, miss?"

"You, uh, look like a friend of brother's," I explained quickly.

"Actually, my name is Finn Be Nimble." He grinned. "Watch this." He ran hard...and jumped right over two big wooden candlesticks that were set up on either side of the entrance to a park. "Now you know why they call me that, miss."

"I'm BB," I told him. "It's nice to meet you." I put out my hand. He caught on quicker than Rey and pumped it so hard, it was kind of sore when he let it go.

"Finn, don't hurt the poor child." Mother Leia chuckled. "Don't mind him. He likes to show off."

"Mother Goose!" The girl who hurried over looked like a real old-fashioned shepherdess from my sister's nursery rhyme books. A floppy pink flower-print bonnet was pulled over her golden ringlets. She wore a pink flowered dress over a frilly green skirt with lacy pantalettes peeking out and waved a long crook trimmed with pink and green ribbons. "My sheep are gone! I can't find them anywhere!"

Mother Goose just sighed. "Never mind, Kaydel Bo Peep. We'll find your sheep. This is the sixth time they've wandered off this week!"

Rey nodded. "You know how it goes. When they're ready to, they'll come home to you, wagging their tails behind them."

"But that's just it!" Poor Kaydel wiped her hands at her teary brown eyes. "They're not in the hillside, or in the Mint Sugar Woods, or in the Cockleshell Gardens or the Sheep's Meadow. They're not in any of the usual places. If Mr. Barnaby finds out, I'll lose my job!"

Mother Leia rubbed her head. "I don't have time for this. There's still so much to do for the Festival, and I need to talk to my brother."

Little Snap Horner had been giving Kaydel a kind of goofy, happy look. "I'd love to help Kaydel Bo Peep find her flock." He kissed her hand, and she smiled and turned all red. "After all, I've helped her before."

"Thank you, Snap." Mother Goose rolled up her very long list and tucked it under her arm. "If they're still missing later, we'll help you look for them." She took my hand. "For now, we're going to take this young lady to visit my brother at our toy factory."

"I hope her sheep are all right." We crossed the busy square and followed a long row of gingerbread houses down an increasingly worn hard candy cobblestone street. "She was awfully upset."

"Oh, she's always losing her sheep. Can't keep track of them, really." Rey Quite Contrary rolled her eyes. "She's just scared of Barnaby Snoke."

There was something in Rey's voice that made me think he wasn't a nice man. "Who's he?"

"Barnaby Snoke owns most of the businesses in town, and many businesses elsewhere in Toyland." Finn shivered. "I used to work for him, but I didn't like how he treats his employees like they belong to him, or how he'll let the Knights of Ren destroy any businesses that won't sell out to him."

"Sounds like a fun guy," I muttered. "The last name sounds familiar...and I didn't like that guy, either."

Mother Leia's face fell when Finn mentioned the Knights of Ren. Rey elbowed him. "Finn, you know we're not supposed to talk about the Knights of Ren around Mother Goose, because of...him."

"It's all right, children." Leia gave me a shaky smile as we came up to a heavy old iron gate. "Come on, little one. Let's meet my brother."

A tall man in a gold uniform stood on one side. He wore the black arm band on one sleeve and had dark hair. The other sleeve was dark red wool and totally didn't match the rest of his shiny outfit. "Hello, Mother Goose," he said, saluting her. "Come to oversee operations?"

"She's probably visiting our Master." The other guard at the door was short, even shorter than me, but he was much older, with gray hair and a lined face. I liked his big grin, though. His uniform was white and blue and not as fancy as his friend's. "He should be upstairs in his office. Poe the Piper Son's been wanting to talk to you, too. Something about a new type of toy soldier."

"Thank you Arthur, Cecil. We'll talk to Poe first thing when we get in." Mother Leia patted my shoulder. "This is BB. She needs to talk to Toymaster Luke."

"Hi there!" I smiled at them. "It's nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too, kid," said Arthur with his big grin.

"Isn't it most inappropriate to have children see the toys before Christmas?" Cecil complained.

"We won't let her see any of her gifts." Mother Goose patted Cecil on the shoulder. "We'll be fine." Arthur opened the gate for us, and we all went inside the heavy old chocolate doors.

The factory was the biggest place I'd ever seen. It didn't look at all like the old factories I'd seen in Philadelphia. It was all pink and blue, with lots of towers like what Rapunzel lives in, and peppermint drops lining the sides. Smoke puffed out of three different stacks. The roofs were outlined with fluffy pink ribbons like giant ropes of icing.

The machines inside were even bigger. They reached to the ceiling, towering over everybody. Pigs, bears, people, dolls, and tiny mice all worked on painting smiles on dolls, putting limbs on action figures, and playing catch with new bright red balls. Sparks flew from some of the bigger machines. Grinding noises and the chatter of people and animals talking as they worked filled the room.

"Mother Goose!" My jaw probably landed on the floor as my brother bounced over. At least, it looked like my brother. He was small and very good-looking, with shiny, curly black hair like mine, big brown eyes, and fuzz on his brown cheeks. "I'm so glad to see you!" He pulled a clipboard out of the pockets of his big blue apron. "We're just about done with the dolls and the tops, but we still need more Play Dough and teddy bears." He looked more like a pirate than a toy maker, with long, loose black pants, a wide red belt around his waist, a loose white shirt, and an orange vest with big gold buttons under the apron.

I tugged at his sleeve. "Excuse me, sir, but is your name Poe?"

"Why yes, it is." Even his smile was the same as my brother's. I noticed Rey blush the same color as the ribbons in her hair and dress behind me when he smiled. He bowed low before me. "Poe the Piper's Son, little one. How can I help you?" 

"I need to find the Toymaker." My voice sounded worried. I couldn't help myself. "He might know how to get me to Santa, so I can get home to Philadelphia."

"Of course, he knows Santa! We all do!" Poe grinned. "Why, I know Santa personally! And the Toymaker is my dear friend." He turned to Leia. "He's been asking for you, Mother Goose. Snoke is up there now." He scrunched up his eyebrows like he does when my brother's wondering something. "Sir Kylo Ren isn't with him, though. I wonder where that scoundrel is? He's usually where Barnaby is."

Rey made a face. "What does he want this time? Is he still after the Toy Factory?"

I frowned as we climbed the long white chocolate steps, surrounded by shiny wrought-iron railings. "Who's Barnaby Snoke, and what would he want the Toy Factory for?"

"Barnaby Snoke is the Crooked Man, who lives at the Crooked Castle on the end of Crooked Lane." Mother Leia's face looked very sad. "Sir Kylo Ren is the black knight. He never takes off his helmet when anyone's around. No one has ever seen what he looks like."

"Maybe he's ugly," snorted Finn, "and he doesn't want anyone to know it."

I didn't know if he was ugly, but Barnaby Snoke sure was. I thought he was even scarier than Mr. Snoke at Skwalker's. He wore an all black suit with a shiny top hat and a flowing cape. He really looked like Dracula from the old movies. I wanted to ask him to open his mouth so I could see his pointy teeth.

"Mother Goose, please talk some sense into this man," Mr. Snoke complained loudly. "This place is no longer necessary in today's world. Children don't play with toy soldiers and tops and dolls. They want video games about war and violence. This building would do excellently as a training ground for the Knights of Ren and a manufacturing plant for their swords and guns."

"No!" Poe shouted. "What about the people and animals who work here? They could lose their jobs! And who will help Santa and his elves with the Christmas rush? And what about those disappointed children who won't receive presents on Christmas morning?"

"Yeah!" I added. "Not everyone likes noisy video games. Mama won't let me play the really loud war ones, like _Rambo_. She says they're too violent and mean."

Barnaby gave me that same "you are gross" look that Mr. Snoke gave me. "What is that little girl doing here?"

"She has every right to be here!" Rey put a hand on my shoulder. "She's with us."

"Mr. Barnaby," Mother Leia began, "we'll get through the inventory somehow. I know we can. We've almost finished our entire order. We just need a few more hours..."

"No! No more excuses." Mr. Barnaby glared at her. "The rent on this factory is due tonight. If you can't meet it, the factory will close."

"But sir..." The older man behind him finally jumped out of his chair. "We can't make that much money in one night!" He looked a lot like Mr. Luke Weston, only he wore a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up and black arm bands around them, a big old blue striped apron, and blue pants that were covered in sawdust. His hair was much longer than Mr. Luke's, all the way down to his shoulders, and he had a thicker beard, too. Come to think of it, he looked a lot like the conductor and ticket man.

"Oh yes, we can!" My bro...Poe the Piper's Son whipped out a clipboard made of gingerbread and candy canes. "If we ask a few people without families to work overtime, maybe speed up production of the teddy bears, move some of the workers making the Lite Brites to the Little People, we might be able to pull it off."

Mother Leia put her arms around Luke the Toymaker. "We'll make that deadline, Barnaby. We'll pay your rent. I wouldn't sell you this toy factory for all the video games in Japan."

"Very well, Mother Goose." I made a face as I saw Barnaby pull her aside. "My offer of marriage still stands. If you consider becoming my bride, I'll forget about that mortgage."

"Never!" Leia pulled back. "I'd never marry you! Not even to save the factory."

"I think you had better go." Mr. Wes...the Toymaker sat back down again. "We have so much to do, and very little time to do it in."

"Very well." Barnaby looked at a big clock in the room. It was made out of cheese, the kind that has holes in it. "Midnight tonight, Mother Goose and Mr. Toymaker. Pay me, or out you go!"

I frowned from next to Rey as he stormed off. "They wouldn't really throw you out, would they, Mother Goose?"

"I'm afraid Barnaby might try something like that." Mother Goose twisted a purple handkerchief with a goose sewn on it. "Maybe I ought to marry him. It'll get him off our backs, if nothing else."

"Don't do that!" I made a face. "Why marry him if you don't like him?"

"She's right." Mr. Toymaker squeezed her shoulder. "It'll be all right. We'll find a way."

Rey put her arm around me. "Mr. Toymaker, this young lady has something she needs to ask you."

"Uh, Mr. Toymaker, sir," I began, standing up straighter. He was a really important grown-up, after all. "I don't know how I got here. I'm from Philadelphia. That's in the United States. I have to get home soon. My brother might get into trouble if I don't, and my mama and papa are having a party tonight and I don't want to miss it."

"We'll get you home, little one." Mr. Toymaker smiled at me. His smile was just as nice as Mr. Luke's. "But right now, I need to work on new toy ideas."

"Do you make She-Ra toys?" I grinned. "I love She-Ra! And Jem and the Holograms. Oh, and Thundercats, too. I like Lion-O. He has eyes that light up when you push a thing into his back."

He laughed. His laugh was sort of high, and almost kind of scary for someone so nice. He reminded me of the Joker on the funny old _Batman_ show with all the "pows" and "zonks." "You bet we make all those toys! We make toy soldiers, too, and tops, and dolls, and just about everything you can imagine." He took a toy soldier in a bright red and gold uniform out of his desk. "But most of all, we make dreams. We help kids imagine a whole new world, and maybe forget their troubles for a while. Some grown-ups like our toys, too. Many adults have begun to collect toys, or have toys from when they were children that they still love."

I went right over to him and gave him a hug. "Barnaby's an old meanie. You matter to me. Video games are fun, but so are my She-Ra and Barbie dolls. I can't make a video game pretend to sing along with a cassette or use them to turn our table in the living room into the Whispering Woods."

Poe grinned. "I like the way you think, little one. That's what we've been telling him."

"That's right." Finn added. "Hey, why don't we show her the rest of the factory?"

"Really?" Now I was excited! "Can I see where they make the She-Ra dolls?"

"Sure!" Poe took my hand. "Stay with me, though. We may make toys, but the machines aren't to play with. They can really hurt you if you're not careful."

Rey smiled up at him. "We'll work on new ideas together. I don't want the factory to close." Poe gave her that same goofy look my brother gives Rey at home. He just sort of stared at her, smiling...and he wasn't moving.

I tugged at him. "Come on! Let's go see She-Ra!"

The grown-ups all laughed. Poe shook his head like he'd been dreaming. "Oh, well, yes. Let's go see the dolls."

Poe and Mother Goose and Finn and Rey took me all over the factory. I got to see how they attached all the action figures' limbs so they stay on. I saw pigs stuff teddy bears with fluffy cotton and tie ribbons around their necks. Long conveyor belts and baskets over my head whisked finished toys to the wrapping room. People wrapped all the toys in fancy paper and lots of shiny ribbons and bows. I like presents with a lot of curly ribbon and bows on them. It's so much fancier than just paper.

We'd just gotten back to the front of the factory when the doors burst open. Everyone stepped back, and I put my hands over my ears as a bunch of people in black armor clanked in. They were really, really loud! If they were supposed to slay dragons, the noise they made would probably end up scaring it off before they could stick their swords in. They all carried swords and big guns with silvery handles.

"We are the Knights of Ren," said the tallest. He kept his armor over his face, but I knew his voice. "We have come to make sure you keep up your end of the bargain, Mother Goose." He put out his sword. "Either you pay what you owe, or we destroy this factory."

Mother Goose put her hands on her hips. "You can't threaten us, Sir Kylo Ren."

"Watch me." The knights leaped onto all of the machines, trying to cut them with their swords. People screamed. Some ran away. Others hit them with their tools. Bears grabbed them and tossed them away. Bunnies ran under them, then leaped on their heads and knocked them over.

Rey grabbed a long pipe from a broken machine and held it up like a sword, just as Sir Kylo Ren came at her. But instead of attacking her, he pulled her into his arms. "You're beautiful." His voice came out all raspy under the helmet. "I want you to come away with me. You could work for Barnaby in his bank or offices and be my lady knight forever."

"No!" Rey shoved him away and held the pipe out. "I'll do no such thing, Kylo Ren. You're just a toady for Barnaby. I'll never join you!"

"You don't know what you're saying, Rey Quite Contrary." He pulled out a long sword made of bright red metal. They dueled like He-Man and Skeletor, or Robin Hood and Prince John on Showtime.

"Psst!" Poe leaned over and grinned at me. "I know how to get rid of these guys."

"You do?" I looked up hopefully at him. "Can I help?"

"Sure!" He grabbed my hand. "Come on!"

Finn hurried after us. "Where are you two going? The fight's in the main hall."

"But our new security guards are in here." Poe lead us through long, twisting hallways to the back of the factory. "Help me open these." He and Finn shoved open the widest doors I'd ever seen. They were made of foil-wrapped chocolate, and took my bro...Poe and Finn a few minutes to open. I finally helped to, pushing on Poe's side. They were really heavy! Like moving a thousand pounds of chocolate.

The room was huge, bigger than Veteran's Stadium in South Philly. All the Philadelphia sports teams could have easily played at the same time. Every corner of the room was filled to the brim with boxes and crates of toys. I'd never seen so many toys! Even Skywalker's Department Store didn't have this many toys. Santa probably didn't have this many.

"Rosie Grumio!" A girl was leaning over the leg of a giant toy soldier who was twice as tall as she was. She was a cute little Asian girl in a yellow blouse with wide sleeves, a blue apron, and tight brown trousers. Her black boots were old and cracked and went up to her hip. Her hair was in a funny style that stuck out on either side of her face. "Rosie, we need your help! Are you finished with the new toy soldiers yet?"

"Just got the screws on the last one tightened." She pulled her wrench one more time before moving away. "There! All done. What do you need them for, anyway?"

"We need security." Poe ran around the back of the soldier and twisted a giant key. "Sir Kylo Ren and the Knights of Ren are attacking the front entrance! The soldiers may be able to help."

"How?" I asked. "They're just toys."

"You'll see when they're moving." Poe pulled me out of the way as the one he was winding up started marching out the door.

We all ran around, turning the keys to every giant toy soldier in the room. I had to stand on my tip-toes to reach them, but I did. Poe showed me how to turn on remote controlled airplanes and tanks that could shoot marbles. Finn set off boats that squirted water. I turned on the big remote control trucks, like the ones my brother gave me when he got to old for them.

"Here!" Rosie tossed wrenches and screwdrivers to Finn and Poe and took a wrench for herself. "They aren't swords, but they'll have to do."

I poked through the tool box. "Can I have a sword, like She-Ra?"

"Sorry, miss. You're too young." Poe pushed me behind him. "Stay here. I don't want you getting hurt."

My lip got all trembly. "But I want to help!"

"You can help by making sure the toy soldiers stay wound," Poe insisted. "If the keys wind down, they'll stop, and the Knights will be able to take them out."

The soldiers crashed right into those knights! You should have seen them. The Knights weren't expecting to be attacked by huge toys as big as they were. The Knights were so surprised, all the workers were able to hit them with their tools and make them drop their swords.

I ran under legs and between people, watching out for sharp, pointy swords and knives. I tried to wind up all the toy soldiers, but I couldn't always reach them, and they kept moving around. Rosie, Finn, and Mother Leia Goose helped me.

I had just wound up one of the toy soldiers again when I saw Rey fighting with Sir Kylo Ren. He had her up against the conveyor belt and looked like he was going to slice her head off! "Oh no!" I yelled. "Rey, watch out!"

Kylo Ren wasn't expecting me to run under his legs and stomp on his toes. That allowed Rey to push him aside. She'd just gotten him on the floor when Poe ran over. I jumped up and down and cheered her on. Rey was almost as tough as She-Ra!

Mother Goose and the Toymaker followed. "Sir Kylo Ren," Mother Goose snapped, "I thought you said you quit your job at the toy factory."

"I got a better job." Two of the toy soldiers dragged the tall, skinny man in black armor to his feet. "My men and I are working for Barnaby now. He has wonderful plans for this factory, Mother! We'll be the biggest military might in the entire world!"

"We're not a military power, Nephew." Mr. Toymaker frowned. "We just make toys."

Mother Goose glared up at Sir Kylo Ren. "Go back to Barnaby. Tell him he'll never get his hands on this place. Not as long as we're alive."

"So there!" I added.

"You may think you've gotten rid of us," Kylo Ren snarled as the toy soldiers shoved him out, "but this isn't the end. And you, Rey," his voice got a little gentler, "my offer of marriage stands."

Rey's glare was almost as cold as Mother Goose's. "I'd rather marry a piece of wood!"

"Good work, all of you." Mother Goose leaned down. "Especially you, little miss. I think we all deserve a treat after that."

"Can we get some ice cream?" I asked. "I'm really hungry!"

"You go on ahead." The Toymaker, a bear, and an older lady with lavender hair in a soft pale yellow dress helped him set up one of the toy soldiers back up after it had wound down. Other workers were sweeping up broken parts, fixing machines, or returning to their jobs.

"Maybe I should help..." Rosie started.

Finn took her hand. "Why don't you come with us? Take a break. It could be fun."

Poe took Rey's hand. "That's right. We'll get Sugar Plum Pie and eggnog ice cream from Simple Simon's pie stand downtown."

Rey's smile was sort of gushy. Her eyes practically had hearts in them. "I'd like that."

"I'll come, too. I need to see to the remaining decorations downtown." She gave me her nice, warm smile. "Would you like to stay with me for a while? It's been so long since I've taken care of a child. I write rhymes for them, but I don't often get to be with them. I'm too busy."

"Ok." I took her hand. "But only until I can go home with Santa."

We went back into the town square, which was busier than ever with people putting up wreaths on their houses or setting trash cans up that the Knights of Ren probably just knocked down. "Who were those men?" I asked Mother Goose. "Why did they want to hurt you?"

"They're evil black knights who work for whichever bad person will pay them more." Mother Goose's pretty face looked very sad. "One of them is my son, or was. He decided we didn't listen to him at the factory enough and became a knight instead."

"Why?" I didn't like the sound of that. "If he's your son, you must love him."

"I do." Mother Goose sighed. "But sometimes, I get so busy with work, and Luke with his toys, and Han...well, he used to be busy with his ship the Falcon. We didn't have the time to tell him we love him as often as we should have."

"Then if you really love him," I told her, "you should say it to him every day."

"I try to, but he doesn't listen." Mother Goose watched Poe and Rey as they walked hand in hand, and Finn and Rose as they chatted. "That's why I try to help the other young people in town. I know I went wrong with my son, but I can help others."

"Maybe you can help you son, too." I tried to smile for her. "If he's your son, he must still love you, too. My papa and Poe argue a lot. Poe wants to be a big businessman and not work in our book store. But they still love each other."

Even as I said that, I leaned over a little, trying to hear what Rey and Poe were saying. It must have been pretty funny. Rey giggled, and Poe had that goofy grin again. They were both turning red as holly berries. Finn and Rose were even redder. They weren't holding hands like the other two, but they were talking a lot.

Simple Simon's pie stand was the giant pie right off the main square. The little man with the long mouse-like nose and greasy black hair from Skywalker's Department Store stood behind the counter, looking bored. Snap and Kaydel Bo Peep were there, too. Kaydel was still really upset. She dabbed at her big brown eyes with a bit of lacy fabric.

"It'll be all right, Kay," Snap was saying as the little man gave them slices of pie. "Your sheep will come back."

"Hi, everyone!" Poe waved to them as we all came up to the counter. "Still can't find those sheep?"

"We've looked everywhere!" wailed poor Kaydel. "They're not on the hillside, or in the woods, or in the Sheep's Meadow, or in town."

"Asked around, too." Snap shrugged between bites of crusty, soft purple pie. "No one has seen them."

"We'll help you look for them as soon as we have lunch." Leia went up to the counter. "Simon Mitaka, we'll have six slices of your best Sugar Plum Pie with eggnog ice cream for all of my friends here."

My mouth dropped open. "Simple" Simon was Mitaka, the little accountant guy! He had the same twitchy nose and beady eyes. If anything, he looked even more like a mouse in his white apron smeared with purple juice and tall chef's hat. "Here you go, Mother Goose," he said in a little squeaky voice. "This is the best Sugar Plum Pie I ever made, if I do say so myself."

Snap got Kaydel calmed down, and we all sat at tables and had our snack. While we ate, the townspeople practiced singing for Santa when he arrived that night. I laughed as Poe pulled Rey out to join the dancers. They all sang "Hail to Christmas" and danced in unison, swirling around in their colorful stripes and and flowered dresses and flowing pirate shirts. Snap finally pulled Kaydel into the dance to cheer her up, and Finn tugged a blushing Rosie out.

"Why don't we dance?" Mother Goose laughed and pulled me out as I finished my yummy pie.

"Ooh, sure! I'd love to!" I bowed for Mother Goose the way the dancers did for their partners. We didn't quite swirl as well as they did, but we had fun.

I watched Poe and Rey out of the corner of my eye. They really did dance very well. Poe always was a good dancer. He loves taking his dates out to dance at clubs in Philadelphia. He's a good singer, too, and he's good at playing the guitar. I've told him a hundred times that he, Rey, and Finn should start a band, or at least sing in clubs.

The song ended with all of the dancers in each other's arms. Poe had dipped Rey down. They were both breathing hard, and their eyes were...kind of soft. Like they weren't seeing anyone else but them. I pushed away from Mother Goose as they got closer.

They were just about to kiss each other when two people rushed in, yelling at each other at the top of their lungs. One was Hux, the lawyer in the store. I'd know his orange hair anywhere, even if a lot of it was wrapped with brown paper. The girl next to him was that tall lady, Phasma. She was huge even without the big shoulders. They wore blue, white, and silver outfits, only Hux wore tight pants and high boots, and Phasma had the same ruffly, fluffy floral skirt with a flowery apron as the other girls.

"Mother Goose," Phasma growled, "we found them!"

"And I wish we hadn't." Hux rubbed his head. "What a headache! I think I broke my crown!"

Mother Goose rolled her eyes. "Jack and Jill, did you fall down Mint Chocolate Hill fetching water for the factory again? This is the third time this week!"

"It's not like we meant to!" Hux groaned. "That rock shouldn't have been there!"

Phasma somehow managed to look down at him, even though he was almost as tall as she was. "You're just a clumsy oaf!"

"Well, if you hadn't fallen over me," the red-haired man grumbled, "we both wouldn't had gone down."

Mother Goose got in between them. "You were just about to tell us something."

Phasma coughed. "Oh yes. We saw Kaydel Bo Peep's lost sheep."

Kaydel almost leaped up from the green-painted tables. "You did? Where are they? If Barnaby finds out they're gone, I'll be out of work!"

Phasma smirked. "They were stolen by Sir Kylo Ren and his men and taken to the Forest of No Return."

"I knew it!" I made a face. "I knew he was a big bad guy! Just like Hordak and Mantenna!"

Rey narrowed her eyes. "That's enough for me. Let's go get that nasty Kylo Ren!"

"No!" Mother Leia got between the kids, waving her hands. "We have to be organized. We don't know if they were really the ones who stole the sheep."

Rose made a face. "Who else would do it?"

Finn nodded. "I know Sir Kylo Ren. I worked for Barnaby for a few years, before I got tired of the way he treats people and quit. He'd steal the sheep and sell them to gypsies or something, just to cause trouble."

"I don't know." Poe shook his head. "Sir Kylo Ren used to be a nice man, once upon a time. He wasn't always this mean."

"We saw them wandering around in one of the back roads when we fell down the hill." Hux winced as he touched the back of his head. "We were going to go after them, but they ran off."

"We have to find them," wailed poor Kaydel. "My babies!"

"We need to form two search parties." Mother Goose started. "Poe, you, Rey, Jack, Jill, and Kaydel search the area near the Parched Mountains. Snap, Finn, and Rose, stay closer to Mint Chocolate Hill and the Sheep's Meadow. They may try to find their way home. I'll stay here and await your news. I have work to do with Luke in the factory."

"What about me?" I tugged at Mother Goose's sleeve. "Can I help?"

"As long as you stay here with us," Poe said. "No wandering off. You don't know these woods well."

"All right." I took his hand. "And I'll only do it until Santa comes, because I have to go home then."

We took the train to The Forest of No Return. It turned out to be the scary-looking dark woods I saw out the window of the train on my way here. I shivered as we got out at a tiny depot on the edge of the forest. "Do a lot of monsters live in those woods?" I asked.

Poe squeezed my hand as we stepped off the platform. "Well, there's bats. Deer. Bears. The gypsies, although I think their camp is on the other side of the forest."

"The gypsies aren't bad," Rey explained as we moved into the woods. "Some people in Toyland Town don't like them, but I think they're fun. They tell your fortune and perform the most wonderful dances! And they wear colorful clothes, like one big rainbow."

"But there's other things in these woods!" Poe grinned and leaned over me, waving his hands and looking like a demented spider. "Spiders with long arms that will grab you, and vultures the size of toy airplanes, and huge, furry monsters that can tear your arms off with one grab!"

I gulped. "I hope we don't run into those!"

"Would you stop it?" Rey swiped the back of his arm as he chuckled. "You'll scare the little one!"

"Never mind the little one." Hux gulped, turning even paler than usual. "He's scaring me!"

Phasma rolled her eyes. "You're such a chicken!"

"If you're all going to stand there until next Christmas, fine." Rey started out into the woods. "I'm going to find those sheep."

"Rey, wait!" I ran after her, nearly tripping over a log. "I want to come with you!"

"BB!" Rey frowned as I managed to catch up with you. "You need to be careful. You don't know these woods like we do."

"They are kind of spooky." Birds chirped in the distance. The wind blew through the mint leaves. A deer leaped past us, a graceful as a ballerina. "Do you think there are really monsters here?" 

"I don't know." Rey shivered as we passed through a circle of thick old trees. "I love flowers, but my realm is Cockleshell Gardens, not the woods." She turned around as we heard something over our heads move. "Who's there?" We looked around, but all we saw were the trees. "I guess it was our imagin...whoa!"

I screamed as one of the trees came to life! It had two big knotty eyes, a long thin nose, and a wide wooden mouth. Its branches wrapped around Rey, lifting her into the air! Rey kicked and screamed, but it didn't do much good.

"What are you doing here, human girl?" The tree stared at her like she was the tree that just moved and talked! "You're a trespasser in these woods!"

Rey struggled in his long branches. "My name is Rey Quite Contrary. I'm looking for Sir Kylo Ren and a flock of lost sheep."

"Hey!" I pounded my fists on that mean old tree! "You let Rey go! She wasn't doing anything to you!"

I'd just started to climb the tree to get Rey out when the tree next to him grabbed hold of me! "Let me go!" I could kick and scream as well as anybody, and I did. "We're not hurting you!"

"This is the Forest of No Return." The big tree holding Rey shook her, ignoring her surprised squawks. "The only humans who come here besides gypsies are criminals, or those who want to chop us down for firewood!"

Rey tried to twist and turn in his branches. "Do we look like we have an ax or saw on us?"

"Let her go!" Poe, Jack, Jill, and Kaydel sprinted into the clearing. Poe brandished a log. "They did nothing to you!"

"Why can't you pick on squirrels or something?" Jill Phasma pulled a knife from somewhere under her dress.

Jack Hux pulled back, putting up his hands in surrender. "Look, we don't want any trouble. We're just passing...whoa!" He didn't get a chance to finish before a tall aspen lifted him into the air by one leg.

"What do you think you're doing?" Jill lunged at the tree with her knife, but it threw her aside.

Hux shook his head wildly. "Jill, don't antagonize it! You'll make things worse!"

Kaydel swatted tree branches away with her long white crook. "Where's my poor sheep? What have you done with them?"

"What would we want with sheep?" The cedar grabbed at Kaydel's crook. She fought him for it, tugging back and forth. "We don't eat their meat or use their wool."

A black oak wrapped its limbs around Poe and Jill, dragging them to the ground. "It's time to get rid of all of you!"

That mean tree was about to throw me away when I heard someone...whistling? Yeah, they were whistling. A long shadow shuffled across the woods. It turned out to belong to an old lady with reddish-dark skin and big round glasses. A bright blue and green paisley scarf was tied around her head. She wore a long tunic and a skirt with a big ruffled on the bottom in every color of the rainbow.

The oak tree that held me put another branch down in front of her. "State your business, human. What are you doing here?"

"Just walking home, Oak. I wish you wouldn't carry on so." The lady reached into a pack on her side and pulled out a match. "It's getting dark. I'd better make some light. I don't want to get lost." She swiped the match on a piece of dry wood, setting it on fire.

That did it. All the trees screamed like little babies. "If you'll free your prisoners and leave them in my care," she told them, "I'll take it away."

All the trees dropped us at once! Jack somehow managed to land on Jill, who shoved him off. Poe got up quick enough to catch me, then Rey. Kaydel grabbed her cane back from the cedar.

"Come on." The lady pushed a branch aside, revealing a dirt path. "Follow me."

"Thanks, Maz." Poe got alongside her. "You probably saved our lives back there."

"Maz?" I giggled. "That's a funny name."

"Thanks." The lady turned around and squinted at me. "Barbara Beatrix Dameron, what are you doing here? You should be at home with your family, getting ready for your Christmas party."

I was so surprised, my mouth dropped open like a fish's! "How did you know my name?"

"I'm a seer, child. A fortune teller. I know all." She gave me a little bow. "Maz Kantana of the Takodana gypsy clan. Some people call me Floretta, my original name."

"Excuse me, Miss Kantana," Kaydel began, "but we really don't have much time. We're looking for my sheep. They were stolen by Sir Kylo Ren."

"Yes, I know." Maz gave her a hard stare. "Sir Ren did not steal your sheep. He helped, but it wasn't entirely his idea. Barnaby Snoke is the one who ordered your sheep to be taken."

"But why?" Kaydel wailed. "What did my sheep do to him?"

"He wants to lure you to Crooked Castle." Maz looked over her shoulder. "As for you, Dameron, you must be wary. Sir Kylo Ren especially wants you out of the way after what happened earlier in the Toy Factory. He has already accused you of taking part in the theft of the sheep to the police at Toyland Town."

"Poe wouldn't do that!" I ran right over to that old lady. "He wouldn't steel the sheep! He's not a thief!"

"Thank you, little one." Poe ruffled my hair, just like my brother Poe does. "No, I would never steal the sheep. I've stolen pigs before and gotten into trouble for it, but that was years ago."

Jill stopped and glared at him. "How do we know you won't again? Or that you aren't just leading us into a trap?"

My bro...Poe the Piper's Son just gave her one of his smooth grins. "You'll just have to trust me then, won't you?"

Maz pushed some branches aside. "We should be just about at the camp..." She frowned as some commotion rattled the treetops. "What's all that racket?"

I'd heard about gypsies in stories, but I'd never seen real ones. The "camp" was a ring of carts painted in bright reds and golds, with fancy carved trim. The people were even more colorful, with their long, dark curls and loose clothes in all colors of the rainbow. They danced a wild number, tumbling this way and that. They reminded me a lot of the music group that performed on the street outside of Skywalker's Department Store. Maz even joined them, telling us more about what she could do as "Floretta."

As soon as they finished, a big, furry brown dog came barreling right at Maz. She gave him a hug and let him lick her face. "Chewbacca!" Maz laughed, rubbing his belly. "Who's a good boy? Who's my favorite boy?"

"Oooh, I know that dog!" I bent down next to him. "Hi, Chewie! Where's Officer Solo?"

Maz shook her head. "He was Han Shaftoe's dog. He came here to live with us after Han vanished at sea."

I looked up at her. Chewie rolled over and nudged my leg. "I thought he was dead. That's what all the grown-ups said."

"Look who knows so much!" We rubbed Chewie's soft back. "He disappeared at sea, but that doesn't mean he's gone. There was no body. You'd be surprised how close some people can be when you think they're gone."

"Poe!" Uh-oh. Finn, Snap, and Rose had been tied to the biggest tree near the big purple cart at the edge of the encampment. Two men guarded them. Finn called out to us. "Poe, over here! Talk to them! Tell them who we are!"

"We found these three wandering around in the woods." A big gypsy with a thick beard held a knife to them. "They claim they come from Toyland Town. Accused us of stealing sheep! People will accuse gypsies of anything."

"We thought you might have seen them." Rose was concentrating more on her hands. I saw something glinting in the sunlight peeking through the trees. "We didn't say you stole them!"

Snap wrinkled his forehead in worry. "Poe, oh buddy, you're in so much trouble. One of the gypsies came to Toyland Town and claimed he saw you help Sir Kylo Ren steal the sheep!"

"I did no such thing," Poe growled. "I hate Kylo Ren. I'd never help him with anything, let alone stealing sheep. My thieving days are over."

Rey and Maz ran over to untie them. "Well, you'd better hide, then." Rose dusted off her vest after they did her. "The police are already out in the forest, searching for you. Mother Leia is with them. I don't think she really believes you did it, but I guess she wants to know who does."

Maz narrowed her eyes under her big glasses. "Did you hear the name of the gypsy who accused Poe?"

Snap shrugged. "He only called himself 'DJ.'"

"I knew it." The old lady frowned. "He's a rogue gypsy who follows no clan. He'll steal and lie about anything if it will net him a few coins. Most clan gypsies hate him. He gives us a bad name."

"Oooh, a bad guy!" I made a face. "Why would he pick on my bro...Poe? What did he do to him?"

"He was probably hired." Poe groaned. "And I can guess by whom."

"Yeah, Barnaby." Rey pounded her fist into her hand. "Let's go get 'im! I'll bet he has the sheep, too."

"Wait!" Maz put up a hand. "We have to be careful. There are trolls in these woods. Not to mention the Knights of Ren."

"We can handle them." Rey took a long, sharp stick from the ground. "You'd be surprised how strong we can be."

"You'll need help." Maz climbed up onto one of the carts. "We'll give you a ride to the castle and help you inside."

"They probably have the sheep in the courtyard." Poe climbed into a cart. He tried to help Rey in, but she shook her head and nimbly ducked around him.

"Poe, can I sit up front?" I grinned at Maz. "I've never ridden on a gypsy cart before?"

He shrugged. "Sure, why not? As long as Maz is watching you at all times."

"Sure as I'm sitting here." Maz crossed her heart. "I'm good with little ones. They like me."

Finn lifted me up onto the driver's seat with Maz. The cart was pulled by two big horses. One was brown with fluffy feet. The other was white with brown spots. Chewbacca barked so loudly, Finn ended up putting him in between us.

I giggled when he climbed right into my lap! "Silly doggie!" I had to push him out. "I don't have enough lap for you to do that!"

Maz pushed him in the middle of the seat. "Get off, you big lump. You'll smother the poor girl."

I shivered. Miss Maz handed me a pretty woven blanket made of threads in reds and greens and golds. "Thank you." I pulled it around me. Chewie cuddled up against me, too. "When are we going to be at the Castle?"

"Soon, my child." I watched as the horses clip-clopped down a dirt path. The woods were getting thinner and thinner.

"Miss Maz," I asked, "why does Sir Kylo Ren hate all the people in the Toy Factory? Why did he quit his job?"

"He thinks that's the only way he can be truly powerful." Maz sighed. "Barnaby Snoke filled his head with a lot of rubbish about how his parents neglected him and no one loved him. It didn't help that Luke knew how powerful he was and tried to stop him, but he ended up almost harming himself and the boy instead of helping anything."

"The Toymaker?" I frowned. "But he was so nice! If Kylo Ren is his nephew, why would he hurt him?"

"Let me tell you something important, little one." Maz looked me right in the eye. I squirmed, feeling like I was at school and Maz was my teacher. "People make mistakes. It's what makes us human. Just because Luke is a great Toymaker doesn't mean he hasn't done the wrong thing once in a while. Being nice doesn't mean you don't get angry or afraid. It's how you act on it that matters."

I thought about what Miss Maz said as the horses clip-clopped along the road. As the trees started to thin out, the sky became darker. The mountains beyond the woods were sharp and scary, stabbing up into the puffy gray sky like sandy knives. I was glad I had big, furry Chewie curling up against me. He kept me warm. I put my arms around him and leaned into his head.

"Where are we?" I shivered. "Are we at the North Pole? It's awfully cold."

Miss Maz pulled her bright red and gold woven wrap over her shoulders. "We're at the Parched Mountains. Crooked Castle is just beyond this road."

"Ohhh!" As the cart rattled down the dirt path, the same tall black castle I saw from the train came into view! It definitely looked like somewhere Hordak would live. It was all spindly and crooked, like it was leaning on a thin ledge and would fall off any minute like Wil E. Coyote. "It's so spooky!" I leaned further into Chewie. "How does anyone live there?"

"Barnaby doesn't care for color or happiness." Maz lead the line of carts around the back of the huge old castle. "He liked it better when everything and everyone is as gloomy as he is. That's why he was able to control Ben Boy Blue so easily. Ben was sad over his parents and his uncle, and in his sorrow, he took control of his mind."

"Like Dracula or something," I added. "Only I didn't see any pointy teeth on him."

The carts had just stopped along a row of deep purple hedges that surrounded the castle. "How are we going to get in?" I asked as Poe helped me down.

Kaydel shrugged. "Maybe we could just ring the doorbell."

"And have every troll in the place after us?" Rey frowned and pushed Poe and me back. "Speaking of trolls," she groaned, "we have a few very ugly problems."

I wrinkled my nose as four big, ugly, hairy things with long claws and fuzzy ears marched around the corner. "They smell like rotten eggs."

"Trolls don't exactly smell like a flower garden." Rey pulled out a long wooden stick. "There's four of them. How are you with trolls, Poe?"

Poe cracked his knuckles. "I think I could handle at least one or two."

"I could at least knock them down." Kaydel pulled a pink sash from around her waist. "We can tie them up with this."

"Me too!" Oh boy, did I want to show those ugly guys a thing or two!

"Sorry, little one. You're too small for fights. You stay with Maz." Poe gently nudged me into Maz's arms, then ran right at a troll, managing to knock him into the ground.

It was almost better than She-Ra. Rey knocked one troll down flat on his back, then hit the other over the head with her stick and smacked him in those parts of a guy Poe tells me it's not nice to smack. The troll doubled over with a noisy groan. Kaydel got her crook around the third one's head and yanked him on the ground. Rose rigged up a big slingshot from a board, a piece of leather string, and a pan in one of the gypsy's carts and threw fruit at the fourth one, knocking him down. Kaydel and Snap tied them all up with her sash.

"Uh oh!" Lots more trolls were coming out, even as they took down the others. "Watch out!"

Maz frowned. "Run, little one. Get out of here! This is no place for a child."

I frowned. "But I want to help!"

"You can help by protecting Chewbacca." The big dog barked behind me. Maz turned to him. "Chewie, keep an eye on her. Don't let her get hurt."

"But..." Something hairy grabbed me around my waist and lifted me into the air! It was a mean, ugly troll. He had a nasty grin with sharp yellow teeth. He was all brown hair, from the top of his fuzzy head right down to his fat feet. "Let me go, you ugly jerk!" I kicked hard at him, but he only laughed in my face.

All of a sudden, he screamed and dropped me on the ground! Chewie was behind him, biting his leg really hard. I landed with a rough thud. "Owwww!" I managed to get up and check myself. My white and orange Polly Flinders dress was dusty and my rear was sore, but I otherwise seemed to be okay. "I'm never going to sit again!" I gave the mean old troll a kick in the shin. He howled and dropped to his knees, wailing about being under attack by gypsies in big boots and hairy assassins with knives.

"Chewie, come on!" I started towards the castle. "We have to get out of here!"

I tried every brick and every window on the castle, hoping that one would be open, like in all the spy movies. Finally, the last brick in a row opened, revealing a secret door in the wall. "It's our way in." Chewie got in front of me, sniffing at the ground with his nose. "After you."

It was dark and spooky in that hallway. There were lots of cobwebs that got in my face and old bones and junk I tripped over. Chewie just kept his nose to the ground, snuffling around. "I guess you're trying to find a mouse for dinner or something." I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself. "I wish I knew where we were. It's cold in here! There's a wind blowing somewhere."

A wind... "Wait! If there's wind, it has to be coming from somewhere." We came to the end of the pathway. Hot air puffed through the bricks, raising the I pushed at the wall...and found myself walking through a door behind a bookshelf in a huge office. There were all kinds of books and papers and globes and maps on the walls. I went to inspect the biggest map while Chewie kept sniffing. It was of Toyland Town, but the factory was crossed off. "Crooked Castle Training Base" had been written over it in fancy letters.

Chewie put up his paws on the heavy black desk. He let out a happy bark and grabbed something black and triangular with his teeth, just as I heard voices. "Chewie, shh!" I tried to open the bookshelf again, but it was stuck! "We have to hide!"

I dove under the desk, just as four figures barged in. I could tell from their fancy painted wooden shoes that two of them were Jack Hux and Jill Phasma. The ragged boots with old fringe belonged to tall man with short brown hair and fuzz on his face. The shiny black boots were Kylo Ren's. I couldn't tell what the last person was wearing. Their shoes were covered up by a long black cape.

"Good work, all of you." The cape turned to the fringed boots. "Especially you, Mr. DJ. You did very well, stealing the sheep from under that silly girl's nose. I knew it would bring them here."

"Thanks." The tall man wore the same colorful clothes as the gypsies, but they were ragged and dirty. His grin was very nasty. "So, where's the gold you promised me?"

"All in good time." Snoke turned to Hux and Phasma. "The others are locked up in the basement with Shaftoe?"

Hux nodded. "The trolls should have gotten them there by now."

Oooh, Phasma and Hux were working for Barnaby! No wonder they knew where the sheep were. And it sounded like those bad trolls had taken the others away! I had to find the cellar. Chewie and I were the only ones who could now.

Sir Kylo Ren crossed his arms. "I've spent the better part of the last two weeks questioning my father. He refuses to reveal where the deed for his share of the factory is. Dameron and the other factory workers will make excellent leverage." He was probably trying to be all dark and mysterious, but he really came off as kind of whiny. "As soon as Father turns his share over to us, we'll lead the trolls to take over the Factory and Toyland Town. They'll never know what hit them."

He leaned on the table. "After we've taken over Toyland, I'll take Rey Quite Contrary for my bride. There's something about her. She's beautiful, yes, but also strong, stronger than she knows." His lazy smirk looked kind of familiar. "And I'll make sure you wed Mother, Mr. Snoke."

Snoke nodded. "Mother Goose is quite lovely for her age, and well-versed in magic and in business. She's popular with the people, too. I never thought that rapscallion Shaftoe was good enough for her. He was a poor sailor with no magic or wealth. She deserves a man who can provide for her."

Phasma raised an eyebrow. "What about Santa Claus and the Christmas Festival?"

I didn't like how happy Barnaby sounded. "Leave him to me. My trolls will make short work of that fat idiot."

Hux sniffed his long nose. "Does anyone else smell dog in this room?"

Everyone started making sniffing noises. "What would a dog be doing here?" Phasma turned to Ren. "Did one of your people pick up a stray?"

"Well, yes." Hux's thin face had a nasty grin as he turned to Kylo Ren. "They picked up him."

Kylo Ren said something mean about Hux's mother that I get into trouble for saying. Hux lunged for him, and they probably would have killed each other if Phasma hadn't gotten in between them. "Enough, you two idiots! We don't have the time for this. We have to find that dog."

"Uh oh," I whispered. I tried to pull further under the desk, but it was hard with all of Chewie there. Chewie whimpered, but I nudged him. "Shhh!"

"What do we have here?" Barnaby's ugly face suddenly appeared right in front of mine. "It's the little girl from Toyland Town. And she has herself a puppy dog." His long, bony hand tried to grab at me. "Come here, girl. Good doggie."

Chewie didn't like him reaching for me or calling him a puppy when he wasn't one. He bit Barnaby in the hand! "Owww!" Snoke pulled away, clutching his bleeding fingers. "You vicious mongrel! Your next stop is the pound!"

"I won't let you do that to Chewie!" I dove out from under the desk and kicked Barnaby in the shins. "You're a mean old man, and vicious, too!" I didn't know what "vicious" meant, but I figured it wasn't nice.

"You little brat!" Kylo Ren jumped at me. "I knew I didn't like you!"

"You're a brat, too!" I kicked him in the knee. He howled louder than Chewie and hit the floor. "You're a big bully, locking up all my friends and my bro...Poe the Piper's Son!"

"I had to do it." Ren was puffing, clutching his knee. "Shaftoe wouldn't talk otherwise."

Phasma grabbed my arm. "Oh no, you don't! You're going in the dungeon with the rest of them!"

She screamed and nearly fell over Ren on the floor as Chewie bit her rear. "No, I'm not!" I yanked my arm away. "I'm getting out of here! Come on, Chewie, let's go!" I ran out the door as fast as I could, with Chewie on my heels.

We wandered around in that castle for hours, or at least minutes. It felt like hours. Every time I turned the corner, I either found more black stone hallways, or more trolls we'd have to hide from. I tried grabbing a sword from one of the old, rusty suits of armor in the corners, but it was so heavy, I had to drag it along. I didn't know knights in the fantasy movies were so strong! Robin Hood never looks like he has this much trouble with his sword in the TV show.

I got so tired of tugging the sword along, I sat in an old wood chair to rest. Chewie just kept sniffing along, his mouth still full of black hat. "Hey Chewie, can I see that?" I pulled it away from his mouth. It was a black hat shaped like a triangle, like George Washington wears in the chapter on American history in my social studies book at school. It was old and battered and it smelled like the ocean. I had to wipe my hands on my dress to get off all of Chewie's drool. "Does this belong to your owner?"

He nodded and barked, sniffing around again. Chewie went down a long, steep set of stairs. They were much longer and steeper than the stairs at Skywalker's or our apartment building. It was really dark and spooky in there. I thought I could hear people screaming in pain. "Chewie," I said nervously, "where are you leading us? Is this where they're holding your owner?"

Chewie ran faster the further down we went. The moment we hit the bottom of the stairs, he barked happily and dashed down the gloomy hall, sniffing like crazy. It was hard for me to keep up with him. I had to lean the sword against a wall.

I followed Chewie under a rusty metal grate and into a dark, damp hallway. The screams and moans were coming from a series of barred cells, like in a prison. "Figures Barnaby wouldn't keep normal things in his basement, like gardening stuff and beach toys," I muttered. "I'll bet Dracula's around the next corner."

But he wasn't. A big troll snored in a chair next to one of the cells. Chewie rushed right to it. "Chewie?" An older man, his wrists and ankles bound with chains, looked up from the mossy stone wall. "Is that you, boy?" He was dressed like a pirate from the old movies, in a brown jacket with lots of fancy brass buttons and trim over a big, flowing white shirt and black vest. His long, thick silver hair was tied back with a brown ribbon. I shouldn't have been surprised that he looked exactly like Officer Solo, only with longer hair. His face was wrinkly, too, but his skin was tan like my brother's and mine, and he was much more handsome than Snoke.

I tip-toed past the snoozing troll and opened the door to the man's cell with the keys I stole from Snoke. It squeaked as I passed, but it didn't wake up Sleeping Ugly. "Chewie!" The dog barged in after me and jumped right up into the man's lap. "I'm happy to see you too, boy." He looked up at me as I went to get Chewie down. "Thanks, kid. What's your name?"

"I'm BB," I said carefully. "What's yours?"

"Name's Han Shaftoe, kid." He squirmed in his chains. "Want to see if any of those keys will open these? I can't feel my wrists anymore."

My eyes widened. "Han Shaftoe?"

He frowned, his eyes a little bit sad. "I used to be, squirt."

I ignored that 'squirt.' "Mother Goose's husband? I thought you were dead!"

"That's what they wanted everyone to think." Han's twinkly greenish-brown eyes narrowed. "The Knights of Ren attacked my ship, the Falcon. They sunk the ship to make it look like I died, then kidnapped me and held me here."

"But why?" I kept trying keys, turning each one to see if they fit. "Why did they want you?"

"I'm one of the three owners of the Toy Factory. Luke, Leia, and I each own a share we inherited from Leia and Luke's parents and the previous Toymaker, Ben Kenobi." Han frowned. "Barnaby tried to get Luke, Leia, and me to sell the factory before, but we refused. He must have figured that the only way to get our shares was to separate us."

"He wants to marry Leia, too." There was a "click" as I twisted the last key in the lock. As soon as it opened, I worked on the next one. "I heard all the bad guys talking. They're going to take over Toyland and the Toy Factory and make Mother Goose marry Barnaby!"

The old pirate rubbed his wrists as I undid his ankles. "I'd say 'over my dead body,' but that might give my son ideas."

"Mr. Shaftoe," I asked softly as I twisted the key, "why does Kylo Ren hate you, and Mr. Luke and Mother Goose? I thought you all seemed nice, but Miss Maz told me Luke did something to Kylo Ren that got him awfully upset."

"Call me Han." He shook his head. "Leia spent most of Ben's childhood running the factory, and I spent a lot of it at sea. He mostly stayed with his uncle. Something happened between Luke and Ben that really frightened him. Ben tried to burn the factory down. Luke fired him instead, and he ran away." Han leaned over and rubbed his ankles, wincing as he did. "We never saw him again until he turned up with the Knights of Ren. We made a lot of mistakes with that boy. I don't know if we can ever fix things."

"You can." I shrugged. "Everyone makes mistakes. That's what Miss Maz told me. I'll help you. I can't do it for long, because I have to go home and help my brother and go to our party. But we can at least fix some of your mistakes." I handed him his hat. "You're not a 'used to be' to me, Mr. Han."

Mr. Han looked down at the hat in my hand. He looked down at Chewie at his feet, his big blue eyes shining hopefully. He finally took the hat and put it on his silvery head at a jaunty angle, then gave me that familiar lazy grin. "Ok then, kid. Let's go."

Chewie was so happy to see Mr. Han moving again, he let out a loud, happy bark and jumped right on him! "Chewie," I whispered, "no! Bad boy! You'll wake up the troll!"

"Huh?" The troll nearly fell out of his chair. His ugly, puggy nose sniffed around. "What's goin' on? Why do I smell dog?" Beady little eyes fell on the three of us. "How did you get out?" Those big claws reached out for Chewbacca. "Sorry, but I'm gonna have to put you all back, startin' with the mutt there. Boss' orders."

The moment he jumped at Chewie, Chewie ducked away! That big troll landed right in the cell. Mr. Han and I shut it quickly and locked him in!

"Uh oh." The troll rattled the bars. "Let me out! If the boss finds out about this, he'll have Kylo Ren turn me into a fur muff!"

"Sorry there, pal." Mr. Han smirked. "We've got more important things to do than mess around with you."

"Wait!" I went back into the hall and dragged the sword in the dungeon. "Here. I swiped it off one of the suits of armor upstairs. Maybe you can lift it, 'cause I sure can't."

"Thanks." He was able to lift it, but I heard and "oomph" as he did. "Heavy sucker. I think it might belong to one of those old Jedi warriors."

"Jedis?" I had a hard time keeping up with him and Chewie. They had really long legs. "Like in Star Wars?"

"Ain't never heard of wars in the stars," Mr. Han explained, "but the Jedi used to be Toyland's exclusive guards, years and years ago. They're all gone now."

We stopped right by the next line of cells. A whole line of trolls trooped up and down the worn old stone floor. I could see Poe in the first cell, trying to reach for one of the troll's keys. The mean troll slapped his hand back when he saw him. Mr. Han gently nudged me behind him. "There has to be a way we can distract these guys."

Chewie took care of that! He dashed right over to one of those big ugly monsters and leaped up onto him to lick his face! When the troll tried to push him away, he stole his belt with the keys and ran off. The troll ran after him, waving his hands. "Bad dog!" He yelled. "Somebody stop that mutt!"

Mr. Han grinned when four of the five other trolls went after Chewie. "Not bad," he admitted. "There's only one left." He hefted the sword over his head. "You stay here, little lady. I'll take care of this."

He tapped the troll on the shoulder. "This is for lockin' me up, gruesome." The moment the troll turned around, he punched him in the face...and reeled back, holding his fist. The troll just stared at him. "Ok, I'm going to have to get brutal with you." He tried again, only to let out a yell and hold his fist. "Oww! Are you made of metal?"

Looked like another grown-up was going to need my help. I ran under the troll's legs and stomped on his toes. The moment he started jumping up and down, Mr. Han stabbed him with the sword. When he dropped to the ground, I pulled away and grabbed his keys. "Good work, squirt." Mr. Han patted my shoulder. "You ever been at sea, kid? You'd make a nice cabin girl."

"Uh, my family went on a dolphin-sighting cruise when we went to Wildwood this summer," I admitted. "Does that count?"

"Good enough." Mr. Han unlocked the first cell with Poe in it. "Here you go, boy."

Poe's eyes were really wide. His mouth kept opening like a fish. "But...how...you...begging your pardon, sir, but you're supposed to be dead!"

"I'll explain how I came back to life later." He looked up just in time to see Chewie scampering back into the room, four trolls on his heels. "You get the others out. I'll deal with these creatures."

"Sure!" He leaned down and grinned at me. "Want to help release the rest of them?"

"Ok!" I nodded. "As long as I can help." I hate it when the grown-ups leave me out because I'm littler than they are. It's not like I'm a really little kid. I'm 8 years old. That's old enough to stay up until 10 on weekends and read really long chapter books like Sweet Valley High (even if I think all the stuff with the Wakefield Twins and their boyfriends is kind of silly).

Finn and Rose were in the next cell. Poe let me unlock them, since Han got to do the last one. "Go help Han take care of those trolls," Poe told them. "BB and I are going to get the others out."

Rose nodded. "Right." Finn looked like he was going to to run away, but Rose grabbed the back of his vest. "Don't even think about leaving. I need your help." She grabbed him and pulled him down as one of the trolls reached for them. "And now would be a great time for it!"

Poe and I unlocked Kaydel and Snap, then Miss Maz and the gypsies. Maz shot two trolls with a big old pistol, like you see in John Wayne movies. "Thanks there, little one."

"Where's Rey?" Poe frowned, looking around him. "She's not here."

"Kylo Ren took her upstairs." Maz ducked, letting another troll fly over her and into two other trolls. They all fell over like dominoes. "She screamed and fought and bit like a wild animal, but he managed to get her away. They're probably gone by now."

"They were in the office. I saw them." That was when I remembered what I heard. "Oh man, Poe, Miss Maz, we have to get out of here! They're going to raid Toyland!"

Maz raised an eyebrow. "They who?"

"Barnaby Snoke and his trolls." All my words came out in a hurry now. "He had some man called DJ steal the sheep, so we'd come here and he could force Mr. Han to sell his part of the factory. They're going to attack Toyland Town and make Mr. Luke give up his part and tell Mother Goose to marry Snoke!"

"No!" Poe shouted. "I won't let them do that! Toyland Town is our home. And what about the Christmas Festival, and Santa Claus? He needs that order tonight!"

"And if they hurt Santa," I wailed, "I'll never get home! Not to mention, no kid in the whole world will get any presents, including me!"

Poe's face scrunched in anger. "They're going to hurt Santa?"

I shrugged. "Mr. Barnaby said he'd 'take care of him.' I didn't think that was a good thing."

"I doubt it is." Han and Maz hurried up to us. Han nodded at me. "We have to get out of here."

"You're not going anywhere, Shaftoe." Phasma and Hux stood side-by-side in the doorway. A bunch more trolls were behind them. Phasma had her hands on her hips. "Except for right back in that cell where you belong."

Mr. Han crossed his arms. "Now, what makes you think I'll be doing that?"

Maz raised her gun. "Where's Snoke, Sir Kylo Ren, and that turncoat DJ?"

"They've already left for Toyland Town." Hux stuck his nose in the air. "You won't be joining them. Trolls, return them to their cells." He turned to me. "Except that little girl. Lock her in the upstairs rooms, where she can cause no more trouble."

"No!" I grabbed Poe's hand. "Don't let them take me away!"

"We won't." Poe frowned. "Leave the poor girl out of this. She's already frightened and far from home."

"I want my sheep back!" Kaydel raised her hook and grabbed Hux by his leg. "Where's my poor sheep?"

"They're in the courtyard...ack!" Kaydel yanked Hux off his feet! He smacked his head as he fell down. "Oww! Like my poor head wasn't in bad enough shape!"

Maz pointed her gun at him. "Bring us those sheep, or you're going to get a lot more than a bump on your head."

Poe and Finn leaped onto the trolls, riding on their backs and covering their eyes until they ran into each other. I wanted to try that too, but Mr. Han pulled me back. "Sorry, kiddo, but they shouldn't be doing it." He slashed ropes that were holding up old woven fabrics with fancy pictures, dropping them onto the other trolls. Rose, Snap, and the other gypsies tied them down.

Mr. Han held his sword up to Phasma. "You're going to take us back to the Toy Factory and right up to your boss, or I'll find six different places to stick thing on that long body of yours."

Phasma still stood tall. "And what if I don't?"

Chewie growled at her as Finn and Poe dragged Hux over. Han pushed his sword further at her. All of the gypsies lunged into her face. "All right," she grumbled, "all right!"

"So," I asked as the gypsies grabbed Phasma and Hux, "how are we going to get into Toyland Town? Sir Kylo Ren and Barnaby and all the other bad guys must be there by now."

Mr. Han gave me that lopsided grin. "Kid, I know that toy factory like the back of my hand. There's a secret entrance in the back." He poked at Phasma. "And these two are going to make sure we can get past all their ugly friends here with no more trouble."

"All right!" Phasma glared at him. "We'll do it. But only because we have to, and because you have the sword."

It was kind of neat, how we got out of there. Mr. Han and Miss Maz and the gypsies grabbed shaggy old rugs from upstairs and made themselves look like trolls. I hid under a thick red rug with Poe, trying to growl and snarl and sound like I was a big monster. Poe held my hand the whole time. He kept giving me a little smile, but it wasn't really happy. I thought he missed Rey Quite Contrary. I couldn't blame him. I felt bad for Kylo Ren, but that didn't mean I wanted him to marry Rey or Barnaby to marry Mother Goose.

We separated when we got outside. Some of the gypsies went with Kaydel and Snap to get the sheep from the courtyard. They'd take the sheep into Toyland Town and warn the townspeople. The rest drove us to the Toy Factory. Thankfully, the road going over the mountain was mostly lined with meadows of lollipop flowers and neat little gingerbread houses. It wasn't anywhere near as scary as the road that lead to Crooked Castle!

The sun was setting when we finally got the carts to the back of the Toy Factory. Finn leaped off the first cart. "How are we going to get inside without being seen?"

"Someone will have to go inside and open the back door." Han Shaftoe lifted me off the front of Maz's cart. Chewie jumped down after me. "It's locked from the outside."

"I could do it." I tugged on Mr. Han's sleeve. "Please, let me do it! I'm little. I can fit through those windows up there." I pointed upwards towards the small windows on top of the factory.

Poe frowned. "I don't think that's a good idea. She shouldn't be in there alone."

"I'll do it." Rose joined me. Chewie barked and tugged at her blouse. "Ok, boy, we'll do it. We'll help her. I'm not as small as she is, but I am shorter than the rest of you."

Mr. Han lifted me up as easily as I lift my She-Ra dolls. "Let me give you girls a hand." He pushed his sword under the window and wedged it open. I crawled in, making sure not to rip my white tights. Chewie just barely squeezed in. It took Rose a few minutes to come after me. She's short, but she's bigger around than I am.

I dropped onto a big bag of stuffed teddies on the floor. Chewie landed next to me with a big belly flop! He let out a howl. "Chewie, shh!" I waved my hand at him. "There's someone here!"

"Who's there?" It was Sir Kylo Ren and his knights. "I know I heard voices." He waved his red crystal sword. "Search this room! Find the intruders!"

"Uh oh." I looked up as Rose landed next to me. "What are we going to do?"

"This." Rose ran to the sheets behind me. "Help me get these off."

"The toy soldiers!" I grinned. "We'll wind them up and let them take out the bad guys, like they did this afternoon!"

"And we have to hurry." She tore the sheet off one and started winding it as fast as she could. "I'll get them wound. You open the door. The key is hanging on the wall by the door."

"Ok!" I found the key hanging on an old nail. It was a big, shiny brass key, like they use to open doors in some of the older houses in Philly. I pushed the key in the big old iron lock, but it was so old, it wouldn't budge at first. I had to keep tugging at it and tugging at it. The key clicked...just as I felt familiar raspy breathing on my shoulder. "Uh oh." I turned around and saw Sir Kylo Ren, wearing his mask again. "You don't have to breathe on me, you know! I know it's you. Why do you wear that mask, anyway? You're not ugly, and I don't think there's anything wrong with your throat."

"I don't want anyone to know who I am, little girl." He reached for me. "Be a good little girl and come with Uncle Kylo."

"You're not my uncle." I made a face. "Why do you hate everyone? Just because your uncle was scared of you? Because your mom and dad weren't there? My mom and dad spend a lot of time downstairs in our store. Sometimes, my grandparents or brother come to see my school shows or dance recitals, because Mama and Papa are busy in the store. I get sad sometimes, too...but most of the time, I understand. Just because they're not with me all the time doesn't mean they don't love me."

"You're just a child. What do you know?" Sir Kylo Ren glared at me. "You know nothing about me!" He yanked my arm hard. "My master wants me to bring you to him. He wants to know more about the land you came from."

"No!" I kicked at him hard. "Let me go!"

Just as he was dragging me towards the front door, something bright and colorful landed right on his head, showering bright red and yellow paint all over his helmet and black leather outfit. "Who did that? Who shot those?" I ducked away, glad that I didn't get paint on my good Christmas dress. I did feel sorry for him about his outfit, though. Mama says leather is really hard to get clean.

"All right!" Rosie cheered behind a line of toy soldiers. Finn and Poe were bringing her buckets of paint to launch on a big catapult. Toy soldiers stiffly charged into black knights. Maz shot a net holding tons of Nerf balls and footballs and basketballs. The balls dropped onto the knights, making them roll and trip.

I threw all the balls at as many knights as I could. The gypsies shot shelves, letting teddy bears fall on the knights and knock them over. Chewie ran between the knights' legs and tugged at their tunics until they fell on top of each other.

"Father." Sir Kylo Ren glared at Mr. Han when he came face-to-face with him. "I'd ask you how you escaped, but knowing you, that story would take the better part of a day and probably wouldn't be true anyway."

Mr. Han gave him that lazy grin again. "You know me too well, kid. Now, why don't we just go home and discuss this with your mother over a cup of hot buttered rum?"

"No, Father, this ends here." I jumped back and screamed as trolls clomped into the room. They made almost more noise than the knights did in their squeaky armor! Two of the trolls grabbed Mr. Han's arms. "You're coming with us. I'd like my father to give me away at my wedding."

"No!" Poe jabbed a wooden sword at one of the trolls. "I'm not going to let you marry Rey. She doesn't love you! I love her, with all my heart!"

"Maybe I love her, too, with all my heart." At that moment, Sir Kylo Ren's eyes got a little dreamy. "Maybe I think she's beautiful and strong, too. Maybe I was hoping that she'd know how it felt to be someone that no one loved."

"Maybe she doesn't love you!" I yelled at him before he could get all mushy. "You're not only person in the world, you know. Did you think of asking her if she liked you?"

Sir Kylo Ren leaned over me. "How would you like to be the flower girl at my wedding? You could wear a fancy dress and throw roses at my feet."

"No way!" I jumped back. "I'm not scared of you! You're just a mean bully. You don't care about anyone but yourself!" I borrowed Chewie's idea and ducked under his legs.

"Go get help!" Poe called after me. "Go find the Toymaker!"

I just ran, before Kylo Ren could get his hands on me. I ran as fast as I could upstairs, past the main factory floor. I could see soldiers and animals and people trying to fight trolls, but the trolls were big and tough. They broke the machines and threw boxes of toys at people. I just barely missed being hit by a box of Play Dough as I rushed up the staircase to Mr. Toymaker's office.

"Mr. Toymaker!" Thank goodness his office was open! He sat behind his desk when I rushed in, calmly painting a porcelain doll in a lacy white dress. "Mr. Toymaker, how can you just sit there? The whole factory is under attack by trolls! Where's Mother Goose? Shouldn't you be turning them into stuffed cats or something?"

He added more red paint to the doll's smile. I wondered if he even heard me. It felt like years before he finally looked in my eyes. "I'm not fighting, little one."

"Why?" I knew I was whining, but I couldn't help it. "Why won't you help us?"

He looked down at me. His big blue eyes were so very sad. "Because it's not worth it. Nothing I can do will help anything. I did fight, many years ago. I fought my nephew Ben. I almost killed him, but I didn't. I fired him from the factory. I'm the reason he's doing this. If I stay here, he won't do worse things."

"Yes, he will!" Tears ran down my cheeks. "I...I thought...you were a nice grown-up. I thought you liked kids, and toys, and everyone. You...you're just a big dummy! All you want to do is hide. People need help! Like She-Ra helps the Great Rebellion, or Luke and Leia got Han Solo to help the Rebels." My words were coming out faster now and all jumbled. I was crying so hard, I couldn't see Mr. Toymaker anymore. "What about Santa, and the toys, and the other kids like me? What about Mother Goose and Rey and my bro...Poe and Mr. Han?"

Mr. Toymaker frowned at the mention of Han. "I'm sorry, little one, but Han Shaftoe is dead."

"No, he isn't! Snoke captured him and locked him up." He just sat there, staring at me with his sad blue eyes. "Please, you have to do something! We're gonna get killed!" He didn't move. "Oh, forget it! You don't care! You don't care that Mother Goose is going to have to marry some mean old man or the Factory is going to be torn down. All you care about is being sad!"

"They want the great and powerful Toymaker, little one." Mr. Toymaker sat back down. "They don't want me."

I looked at him through my tears. "Maybe that's what they need right now. And if you can't do that...I guess you're not a nice man after all."

He had just started to get up again when I hurried out the door. I was tired of all these grown-ups who thought they had to be mean and sad because they'd done something wrong. I do something wrong all the time, and sometimes, I'll even cry about it. But I always try again. That's what you're supposed to do.

I had just ran downstairs and was about to go look for Poe when two arms wrapped around my waist. "What are you doing here, little girl?" Sir Kylo Ren stared me right in the face. Trolls held Han Shaftoe and Poe the Piper's Son behind him. "Tattling to my uncle? Naughty naughty. Just for that, I may not make you flower girl in my wedding."

"I don't want to be flower girl!" I kicked and wiggled in his big hands. "I don't want you to marry Rey or that ugly old Snoke to marry Mother Goose! They already have people who love them!"

"Let her go, Ren!" Poe tried to get out of the troll's beefy arms. "She's a little girl! She can't hurt you. It's us you want!"

"On the contrary. She may be useful." He tucked me under his arm like I was a teddy bear, then turned to his guards. "The girl is coming with me. It's time to go to my wedding at Toyland Square." He gave his father that nasty little smirk. "Maybe dear old Dad would even give away the brides."

"Ben, you're not going to get away with this." Han winced as the troll yanked his arms behind his back. "You don't have the gypsies, or the other townspeople. They'll stop you."

"The townspeople are afraid of losing their jobs and homes. They'll do what they're told to do." Sir Kylo Ren narrowed his eyes. "You'll be held as examples. All of you. You friends, too, when we find them."

"Oh no!" I couldn't help groaning when I saw the square. All the trolls had rounded up everyone in Toyland Town in one circle by the big tree. The trolls held clubs over them, and they all looked really scared. I tried to look for Rose, Finn, and the gypsies, but it was hard to see much under Kylo Ren's arm.

He finally put me down between Hux and Phasma. Simple Simon was there, too, watching over tables and tables of pies. "I want you to keep an eye on this little brat. Make sure she doesn't run away this time."

Rey and Leia both stood by the front of the tree, near a stage made from gingerbread. Snoke was there too, in his usual ugly black suit. Rey looked like a bride from a fairy tale in her lacy dress with its big, puffy sleeves and floaty skirt and glittery tiara and veil...but her face was red and really angry. Two trolls had to hold onto her. Leia didn't run, but she kept giving those icy looks to Kylo Ren. Her dress was silky lavender with a long train and one of those hats with the big brims. It wasn't as fancy as Rey's, but it was just as pretty.

"Lemme go!" I tried to kick Phasma, but she wrapped her long arms around my waist instead, holding my arms to my sides. "You're so mean!"

"I'll be meaner if you don't stop fighting." She nodded at the trolls. One dragged Chewie on a leash. "You don't want us to hurt your friend. We can do terrible things to those who disobey us."

"Leave Chewie alone!" I tried to pound on her, but she held my arms. "He's just a dog! He only wants to help!"

"Han?" Mother Leia's eyes widened. "You're alive!" She started to him, but Barnaby grabbed her arm.

"Leia!" Mr. Han gave her a sheepish grin. "I just couldn't stay away."

Mother Leia's face lit up in a beautiful smile. "I missed you, sheep herder."

"That's why I left." Mr. Han chuckled. "So you'd miss me."

"Poe?" Rey tried to get to him, but the trolls yanked her back. "What happened? How did you get here? They told me they'd killed you back at Crooked Castle!"

"It's a long story." Poe looked really worried. "Are you all right? If they've hurt you in any way..."

"I'm fine." Rey lifted her chin proudly. "I can take care of myself."

Barnaby nodded. Two of Sir Kylo Ren's black knights held red swords to Mr. Han and Poe's necks. "If you two go through with the wedding, we may consider sparing the lives of your lovers. After all, Mr. Shaftoe here still hasn't told me where his deed to the Factory is, or yours or the Toymaker's, for that matter."

Mr. Han's eyes went to Leia's. "Sweetheart, don't tell him!"

"The factory belongs to you three." Poe tried to pull away. "Kylo Ren isn't worthy of your legacy!"

Sir Ren snorted. "And you are? You, who steals helpless sheep from my employer?"

"I never stole those sheep!" Poe tried to jump at him, but he couldn't get past the Black Knights. "That's a lie, and you know it. Barnaby stole those sheep!"

"Han, I'll never tell him anything." Mother Goose turned to Barnaby...and even though he was taller than her, she seemed to stand above him. "I won't let you do this. The Factory has been in my family for thirty years. We will never give it over to you, no matter what you do to us!"

"And who's going to stop me?" That mean old Barnaby yanked Mother Goose's chin up to him and held her arm harder. "Kiss me, my bride! Kiss me, and we will join our business interests and our lives, partners as one!"

Suddenly, a long shadow fell over the wedding party. "Let my sister go, Barnaby!"

"Uncle." Kylo Ren stepped up to the Toymaker. He held a long metal sword with a bright blue handle. Rey stumbled backwards on the stage, into two really short trolls who looked sorta familiar. "Come to see my wedding? I could make you Best Man."

"Too bad you never were." The Toymaker held the sword at him. "Let the others go, Ben, including your parents. It's me you want, not them. I know where the deeds to the Factory are."

"Kid, what are you doing?" Mr. Han gulped and looked over the sword on his neck. "You don't know where my deed is!"

Mr. Toymaker (who really wasn't a kid) ignored him. "Attack me, Ben. Come after me with everything you have. You won't get those deed otherwise."

"No!" I squirmed in Phasma's tight grip. "Mr. Toymaker, no! What about Christmas? What about Santa?"

Mr. Toymaker gave me a little smile over his shoulder. "It'll be all right, little one."

"Luke!" Leia stamped on Barnaby's toes, then darted over to him. "Luke, what are you doing?"

"What I should have done years ago, sister." He hugged Leia, then gave her a long, thin box. "Just remember, no one is truly alone."

Leia frowned. "But why...how..."

"Mother, get out of the way!" Kylo Ren was just getting madder and madder. "This is between Uncle and me!"

Everyone was watching Mr. Toymaker and Sir Kylo like it was the Super Bowl or something. I finally turned my head from them to some rustling in the bushes behind us. Two trolls sneaked behind Hux and Phasma and grabbed them, throwing fur rugs over their heads. 

"Finn Be Nimble!" I squeaked. "Rosie Grumio! How did you get away from the trolls?"

"Once Kylo Ren left, it was easy." Rose and two gypsies tied up Hux and Phasma with wide red Christmas ribbon. "The trolls are big, but they're really dumb. Finn and I kept shooting them until we got them in a certain spot, then the gypsies and other factory workers dropped a net we usually use to hold stuffed animals on them. Maz and the other gypsies are loading them into carts now to be taken back to the Forest of No Return."

"You may have gotten our trolls," Hux snapped, "but you won't get Sir Kylo Ren. He's out there now, getting rid of your boss the Toymaker."

"Mr. Toymaker!" Finn Be Nimble almost leaped towards him. "I have to help him!"

"No!" I shook my head. "He wants to do this himself. Something really bad happened between him and Sir Kylo. He wants to be the one to stop him."

Rosie nodded and took Finn's hand. Finn gave her a dreamy smile. "I think the best thing we can do," Rose told him, "is free the others, before someone realizes that Hux and Phasma are on the ground."

"Good idea!" I grabbed Rosie's hand. "Let's go get 'em!"

We're not the only ones who had that idea. Kylo Ren and Mr. Toymaker were fighting each other all around the square. Most everyone was watching them and cheering them on, including the men who held Mr. Han and Poe. The moment the men started yelling, Mr. Han and Poe turned around and hit them hard on the chin!

"Poe!" I ran right to him. "You're ok!"

"Of course, I am!" He grinned as I leaped into his arms for a hug. "I'm just glad you're not hurt. Did Kylo Ren do anything to you?"

I gave him a grin of my own. "Nope! Hux n' Phasma didn't, either. I'm too smart for them!"

"Come on." Mr. Han fixed his hat. "The kid...er, the Toymaker ain't gonna hold out much longer. We gotta find the others."

"First," Finn Be Nimble said as he and Rosie followed me, "we've got to find Rey. Snoke still has her and Mother Goose."

"Uh, no." I pointed back at the stage. Rey took a sword from one of the knights watching Sir Kylo and Mr. Toymaker fight. She managed to knock them all over with one thrust! "She's ok! And she can fight better n' She-Ra!"

Finn and Poe and Rosie all cheered. Poe let out a laugh. "That's my girl!"

Just as Rey pulled away, the toy soldiers burst from the Factory and out onto the streets! They shot marbles at knights or whacked them with their tin swords. The knights would whack off their tin heads or limbs, and they'd still keep coming.

"Rey!" Poe ran over to her. "You're amazing!"

She smiled at him. "Thank you. Duck!" Poe did...just as Rey leaned over and stabbed a troll with her sword. He fell back, nearly knocking over a toy soldier.

Poe had a funny, goofy grin on his face. "You're amazing. I've never seen anyone who can fight like you."

"You should see me pruning my cockleshells." She took his hand. "Come on. We need to get Mother Goose away from Snoke, before he can get her to the alter."

Mr. Han narrowed his eyes. "I won't let him."

I wandered away from the grown-ups. I was worried about Mr. Toymaker. He had a lot of experience, but Sir Kylo was younger and faster than him, and really angry. When I pushed through the crowd to watch them. Mr. Toymaker wasn't fighting. He was just sort of...standing there. Just looking at Sir Kylo Ren with his big blue eyes.

Sir Kylo Ren was red-faced and wild-looking. His long black hair was matted down on his head, and his teeth were gnashing. "Uncle, why don't you do something? Like you did years ago when you tried to attack me! You fired me! I admired you, you were my idol, and you fire me! Told me you were frightened of me! Of all the evil I could do! You can't save me now!"

"I was wrong, Ben Boy Blue." Mr. Toymaker just stood back. "But so were you. You shouldn't have tried to burn the Factory down. I can't save you, Ben. Neither can your parents, Rey Quite Contrary, or anyone else. There's only one person in Toyland who can really save you."

"I don't get it!" Sir Kylo tried and tried to stab him with his sword. "I should be killing you! I have the power! You're just an old man."

"Am I?" Mr. Toymaker just brushed a little dust from the Square off his shoulder, then stared Sir Kylo – or Ben Boy Blue – right in the eyes. "Or am I what you think I am?"

"That's enough! I'm tired of this!" Ben raised his sword. "You've built your last soldier, Toymaker!"

I screamed when Ben ran his sword through Mr. Toymaker. Even Skeletor never managed to get his sword into He-Man! But even before he could get the sword in...there was no one there. Mr. Toymaker's tool belt, sword, and clothes fell to the ground, empty.

"NO!" I shrieked, at the same time as Mother Leia, Mr. Han, and Rey. Mr. Han ran over to the pile of clothes. Mother Goose tried to, but Barnaby held her arm.

I started to go after them, but Poe gently pulled me into his arms. "Stay here, BB." He frowned. "I don't know what just happened, but I can't imagine it's good."

Mr. Han glared at his son as Sir Kylo poked his toes into the Toymaker's clothes. "What are you doing? He's gone, Ben. Gone because of you!"

Sir Kylo held his sword at Mr. Han. "And you'll be joining him next, Father. You, then Poe the Piper's Son and all those other idiots at the Toy Factory.

Barnaby tried to get the box out of Leia's hands, but she held on as tightly as she could. "If I can't have you, woman," he hissed, grabbing her arm hard, "no one will!"

And that was when I heard the sound of bells. Tinkling bells, like the old metal bells my mom hangs on our Christmas tree. We all looked up in the sky...and saw eight tiny reindeer pulling a big red sleigh with a huge sack in the back. "It's him!" I grabbed at Poe's hand. "It's him! It's really, really him! It's Santa Claus!"

I knew the moment the sleigh landed that it was him. Even though his beard was gray instead of white, and he wasn't as big as he was in the movies. He still had twinkly blue eyes and cheeks like roses and wore a velvety red suit with white fur trim. His little mouth was even drawn up in a bow...until he saw the mess in the Square, the empty clothes on the ground and Barnaby trying to take the box from Leia.

I ducked away from Poe and ran over to the big man by the sleigh. "Sir, are you really Santa Claus? You look like Santa..."

"Barbara Beatrix Dameron!" He certainly ho-ho-ed like Santa did. His voice was a little higher than I thought Santa's would be. "What are you doing all the way in Toyland, young lady? You should be in North Philadelphia, helping your parents with their party!"

"My brother took me to work with him." I tried to raise an eyebrow like my mama does, but they both went up at the same time. I can never do that. "How do you know my name?"

"Of course, I know your name! I know the name of every child I deliver presents to, or ever gave presents to." He gave me a warm, friendly smile. I knew I'd seen that smile not long ago.

"Um, sir? I mean, Mr. Santa?"I tugged on Santa's sleeve. "I was told you might be able to take me home. I don't know how I got here, and I really need to get back. I have to tell my brother and his boss something important."

He took my hand. "Of course I'll take you home. Just as soon as I deal with a few things here."

Sir Kylo Ren got in front of him, holding his sword on him. "Oh no you don't, Claus. I'm taking over this operation. There will be no more toys here!"

Barnaby was so surprised at this, he let go of the box with the deeds. "What do you mean? I'm the one in charge here, boy!"

"Not anymore." Sir Kylo Ren ran into Barnaby, knocking him over. Mother Leia stumbled aside. "I don't like people who attack my mother. Consider our deal off. I'm going to be in charge of the Toy Factory from now on. It's my right."

He never got the chance. Just as he lunged at Santa and Mr. Barnaby with his sword, we heard rumbling coming from the street that lead to the Toy Factory. Suddenly, a fluffy white blur came stampeding through the square! It ran into everything, going straight to a pen next to a red gingerbread building that looked like a barn, complete with white trim. (I wondered if the top would moo when I opened it, like my Little People barn?)

"Hey!" One of the white blurs was chewing on Kylo Ren's cape. "What do I look like, a head of cabbage?" He yanked his cape away. "Stop that!"

Kaydel yanked his sword away with her cane. Maz and Snap ran after her. "You're through, Kylo Ren! I won't let you or your boss hurt my sheep anymore!"

That was all the distraction Rey needed. She grabbed the Toymaker's blue sword and held it on Ben Boy Blue. "You're finished. The Toy Factory belongs to its rightful owners. Your boss is under arrest. No one can save you now."

"That's not quite true." Santa shook his head. "There is one person who can save him."

"Who?" I tugged on Santa. "Who can save him?"

Santa patted my shoulder, then looked up at Ben. "Ben...the only person who can change you is you. You can save yourself. You can still do the right thing. Just because a person makes one mistake doesn't mean their life his over." He gave me that bow smile, then nodded at Mr. Han, Mother Leia, Rey, and Poe. "I learned that from my friends."

"No." Ben pulled back. "If I go back with you, I'll just be Ben Boy Blue again. I don't want to be that boy. I want to be something special."

Rey went to his other side, still holding Poe's hand. "But you are something special. You don't need Snoke or the Toy Factory to tell you that. You're smart, you're strong, and you're a good fighter."

Mother Leia nodded. "Please come back to the Factory with us!"

Ben just turned away. "I don't belong there, Mother. I don't think I ever will." He nodded as police officer bears from Toyland Town put handcuffs on Snoke. "I'm going to take the trolls back to the Forest of No Return. That's where I want to be." He narrowed his eyes at Santa. "Until next time, you old goat!"

Everyone tried to reach for him, but he swirled his cape around too fast. There was a burst of red light. When it subsided, he was gone, and so were Jack Hux and Jill Phasma.

"Boy! Come back here, boy!" Snoke was yelling into the empty air. He tried to give Santa a sickly grin as the police bears brought him to Santa. "Well, hello there, Mr. Claus! Fancy meeting you here. I thought we might come to terms on the Toy Factory..."

"No, Snoke." He shook his head. "The Toy Factory already has a buyer." Mother Goose and Mr. Han handed him the long box. He opened it, revealing three heavy, yellowed papers with fancy cursive writing on them. "I've been in discussions with Mother Goose and her family for a long time. I'm going to buy the Factory and run it just as it is. We'll keep making all the toys that children love."

"What?" Snoke looked over his shoulder at Mother Goose, who gave him a smirk, and Mr. Han, who had that little grin on his face. "You didn't tell me you had another buyer!"

Mother Goose shrugged. "You never asked."

Santa handed Mother Goose the box. "You and Han can continue running the Factory for as long as you're able to."

"We're going to need someone who can replace my poor brother." Mother Leia turned to Rose. "No one will ever be able to do what he can...but you've got a good imagination, young lady. I saw what you did earlier today with the Toy Soldiers. I think you'd make a wonderful Toymaker. As of now, you'll be getting a raise and will be in charge of all toy design and creation."

"Really?" Rosie's big smile nearly split her face. "I mean, really? You really want me to be the new Toymaker? I mean, I know I can build things, but I'm not as good as him..."

"Maybe you're not as good as he was." Finn put his hand on her shoulder. "But you're a pretty good you. And you are good at building things. You helped the Toymaker put those Toy Soldiers together, and they saved us in the end."

That was when I heard barking. "Chewie!" The big dog dashed right over to me and leaped into my arms. Well, he tried to. I don't have enough arm. I ended up on the ground, with Chewie licking my face. "Stop it!" I giggled. "You're getting fur on my dress!"

"Ok, ok boy. That's enough." Maz pulled Chewie off me. He ran over to Mr. Han to jump on him, only Mr. Han was big enough to still be standing. Maz had Mr. DJ in handcuffs behind her. "Thank you for helping us catch this scamp, little miss. We found him trying to escape with the trolls."

DJ shrugged. "Hey, you can't blame a man for trying. I'm only a poor fellow trying to make a living. Snoke had the best offer."

Maz made a face. "And are giving us gypsies a bad name." She turned to Mr. Han and Mother Leia. "We'll handle him." Her tiny, wrinkled fingers gently took their hands and put them together. "You're home, Han. Maybe you might want to stay a little while this time."

Mr. Han wasn't looking at her. He was smiling at Mother Leia, who gave him a gentle one back. "Yeah, think I will, Maz."

Mother Leia was still holding his hand when she turned to Poe. "You'll be staying on at the Factory as our head foreman, of course? With an increase in salary."

Poe grinned. "Of course." I saw him squeeze Rey's hand. "If I'm going to treat my flower queen like she deserves, I'll need to make a little more money."

Rey gave him a dreamy smile back. "Tomorrow, since the Factory is closed for the holiday anyway, would you like me to show you Cockleshell Gardens? My pretty maids all in a row are coming up now. If," she added quickly, "you aren't busy."

He looked just as dazed as my brother always did around Rey. "I'd like nothing more."

Kaydel hugged her sheep. "My poor babies! They're all trembling in their little wool sweaters."

Santa leaned over one of the sheep. "I agree. I think I could use a new wool supply for doll dresses and to make yarn for rag doll and Cabbage Patch Kids hair. This is a fine flock you have here, young lady. I might consider buying them from Barnaby." He gave her a serious look. "As long as you promise to keep a better eye on them from now on."

"Oh, I will!" She nodded at Snap, who was scratching a lamb between its ears. "Snap is going to help me."

"And now..." Santa went to the Christmas tree in the center square. "Citizens of Toyland!" Everyone gathered around him. The Toy Soldiers marched into a row along the road that lead to the train station and the end of town and saluted him. Gypsies and the animals who worked at the Factory loaded bags and bags of toys into his sack. "I give you...Christmas!"

Santa pushed a switch on the pole next to the tree. The lights on the tree burst to life, reminding me a lot of the lights on Market Street when Poe and I take the SEPTA bus home together. Everyone oohed and ahhhed. It was really pretty, with all the glittery balls and soft embroidered Santas and reindeer. The star at the top glittered like the stars in the dark blue sky over our heads.

Seeing the tree all lit up made me think of my parents' tree at home, and of Poe and Mama and Papa and all my sisters and aunts and uncles. "Mr. Santa?" I tugged on his sleeve. "Can we go home now? It's nice here, and I like everybody...but I miss my family."

Santa nodded. "It's time, little one. Go say good-bye while I get the reindeer ready."

Everyone wanted to give me a hug! Chewie whimpered. I wrapped my arms around him. "I'll miss you, boy, but you have Mr. Han now. He and Mother Goose will take care of you."

"Thank you for helping us!" Poe gave me such a big hug, I was breathless when he let me go!

Rey's hug wasn't quite so big. "We're going to miss you. You're such a nice girl. Your family is lucky to have you."

I grinned. "Are you guys going to get married? You already have the dress!"

They laughed...but I could see from the looks they gave each other that they were thinking about it. "Maybe someday, little one." Rey ruffled my hair. " Right now, we're going to get to know each other better before we jump into things."

Finn leaped over to me, pulling Rosie along with him. "Don't forget us, kiddo!"

Rosie nodded. "You brought Finn and me together and helped show me what I could really do."

All the sheep gathered around me, bonking me with their heads. "They say 'good-bye,' too." Kaydel was crying. "Please come and visit us someday!"

"Don't cry!" I took a crumpled tissue out of my pocket. "I don't know if I'll be back. But...it's funny. I feel like I know all of you anyway. Like _The Wizard of Oz_. But I couldn't know you."

"Come 'ere, kid!" Mr. Han gave me a big hug and rubbed my head. "Don't give Santa any trouble. You're his cabin girl now."

I leaned into Mother Leia. Her perfume was flowery and spicy, and it smelled just like my mama's. Her little fingers stroked my curly black hair. "You be careful now, little one. Don't lean too far out of the sleigh, and do everything that Santa tells you to do. And never forget that you have friends here who love you."

"I won't." I sniffled. "I'm sorry, but...you kind of remind me of my mama and grandma."

Her laughter was warm and gentle. "I'm going to take that as a compliment."

Maz tugged me away from Mother Goose. "It's time." Two of her gypsies helped me into the sleigh. The older lady pulled a furry blanket over my knees. "Don't forget, little one, that it doesn't matter if you've made mistakes. What really matters is how you choose to act about them."

"But..." I didn't get a chance to ask her what she meant. Santa climbed into the sleigh next to me. I frowned. "It's already time to go?"

"That's right." Santa lifted the reigns. "I have thousands of other stops to make tonight, including Philadelphia. We have to get moving, or I'll never get to any of them before dawn."

I couldn't believe I was actually in Santa's sleigh, with Santa right next to me! "Can I say it, Mr. Santa? Please?"

He chuckled, a warm ho-ho-ho deep in his big belly. "Why not?"

"Ok!" I couldn't believe I was actually getting to do this! "On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer and Vixen! On Comet, on Cupid, on Donner and Blitzen! Oh, and on Rudolph, too! To the top of the porch, to the top of the wall, now dash-a-way, dash-a-way all!"

Even as I said those words, the reindeer were starting to gallop down the main street. I could see all the gingerbread houses and the train station and the train I'd arrived on. I couldn't help noticing that the station and the ticket window were empty. There was no seller there now, nor a conductor. The sleigh finally took off, soaring into the night sky.

The view from below us was amazing. I waved to everyone, to Rey and Poe and Finn and Rose holding hands, to Mr. Han and Mother Goose and Chewie and all the gypsies. I could see the same beautiful green rolling hills and meadows we saw on our way here. I even saw Kylo Ren, Jill Phasma, Jack Hux, and Simple Simon leading a line of carriages filled with trolls back to the shadowy Forest of No Return. Crooked Castle was still off in the distance, as rickety and scary as ever.

Something had been bothering me, ever since Santa's sleigh arrived. "Mr. Santa," I started, "you remind me of someone...well, a couple of someones...I saw back at Toyland Town. But you can't be him. Kylo Ren killed him."

"That's what he thought." Santa turned to me with that little smile...and I realized I knew who he was, and where I'd seen that smile before. "I wasn't going to let him hurt all those innocent people."

"Mr. Toymaker?" My mouth almost dropped to the floor. "You're Santa? But...but..."

"It's a long story." Mr. Toymaker...or Santa...leaned back in his seat.

"But how?" I asked him. "How did you survive?"

He just shrugged. "Christmas magic." We were flying over the ocean now. There wasn't much to see here, just lots of sparking water. "Why don't you take a nap? We'll be back in Philadelphia at Skywalker's Department Store in no time."

"Well, ok." I pulled the blanket over the rest of me. "I am a little tired. But you will wake me up when we get home, right?"

Santa nodded. "Of course."

I curled up on the wide, velvety seat and leaned into Santa's shoulder. I didn't think I was tired, but I was. "I wish I was home," I murmured. "I wish I could tell Poe that I love him...I wish I could tell him what Ben and his friends are doing..."

"BB? Are you awake?" A warm hand shook my arm. "Your brother's looking for you!"

"Huh?" My eyes snapped open. I was back on the train at Skywalker's Department Store. Everything was just the same as it had been before. "Where am I?" I looked up...and into a familiar pair of blue eyes and bright red suit. "Santa! What are you doing here? Don't you have to deliver presents?"

"What? Oh." Santa looked down at his costume. "Sorry, BB. I played Santa this year to cut down on the cost of hiring someone to wear the suit. It's Mr. Weston. Your brother's been turning the store over trying to find you."

"BB!" Poe and Rey hurried over. "There you are!" He helped me out of the train. "I told you not to wander off!"

"But I had to!" I hugged my brother as hard as he could. I fact, I thought I'd never let him go. "Poe, is it really you, and not another Poe?"

"It's really me, kiddo." He squeezed me as hard as he could. "I think it's time to take you home for that party."

"No!" I grabbed his hand. "You have to stop Ben Solo and his friends!" I turned to Santa...Mr. Weston. "Ben is the one who stole from the company, not my brother! He's going to use the money to run off to Mr. Snoke in Boston and make you and Mrs. Solo sell the store. Hux, Phasma, and Mitaka are in on it! I heard them talking when we were looking for the stuffed sheep."

"Don't worry about that, kid." Officer Solo, Chewbacca, and Mrs. Solo came over next. Officer Solo had Ben by his arm. Two more policemen as big as bears pushed Hux and Phasma and Mitaka along. "Leia's suspected Ben was up to something for a long time. We caught them trying to take the money and skip town. I think a couple of days in jail might let them rethink their stance on white-collar crimes."

Mrs. Solo sighed. "Ben, I'm sorry, but we're not bailing you out this time. You're going to have to pay for your crimes." She narrowed her eyes. "And I'm going to have a long talk with Snoke about all this after the holidays."

Ben glared at them. "And we would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for my damn father, that mutt of his, and that little brat!"

"Are you going to call me a meddling kid?" I grinned. "Because in this case, I'm glad I am one!"

Everyone laughed, just like at the end of the Scooby Doo cartoons. Poe checked his watch. "I think it's time I took this little girl home. The party will be starting in a half-hour. Papa will have my head if I'm late."

"We'll take you there ourselves." Mrs. Solo smiled up at Officer Solo. "Do you still have that old truck you used to haul me around in all the time? The Falcon?"

"Sure." He frowned. "But I thought you hated that truck. Said it was a piece of junk."

Rey chuckled. "I've seen that truck. It's garbage, but it's still better than a train or bus."

"Wait!" I grabbed Rose's hand as she, Kaydel, and Finn joined us. "Mr. Weston, Rose is good with building things. I think she could help you make toys to sell at Skywalker's. That way, you'll have something special that no one else in Philadelphia is selling."

"You do, huh?" Mr. Weston gave her a grin. "In that case, why don't we talk it over in my office the day after Christmas? Say, around 10 AM?"

Rose absolutely beamed. "That would be wonderful, sir! You won't be disappointed!"

"You're all invited to my parents' party." Poe took Rey's hand. "You too. I really want them to meet you."

Rey gave him the same dreamy grin I saw on Rey Quite Contrary in Toyland. "I'd like that."

"Poe!" I grabbed his other hand. "You're not going to believe the dream I had! I was in Toyland, and I met Santa Claus, and the Toymaker, and Mother Goose, and the Crooked Man and Sir Kylo Ren the Black Knight wanted to destroy the Toymaker, but he disappeared, but he didn't, and there was Maz and the gypsies and the trolls and..."

"Whoa!" He laughed and lifted me into his arms. "Tell me all about it on the way home, ok?"

"Sure!" I put my arms around him. "I love you, Poe. You're the best big brother ever."

He gave me a big hug. "I love you too, BB."

As we were leaving Skywalker's Department Store, I saw the dancers outside again. They were just starting to round up their instruments and money for the night. As we headed down the street to the parking lot, I could have sworn that the smallest and oldest of the dancers winked at me! She looked almost exactly like Miss Maz, right down to the colorful embroidered clothing and huge glasses.

"Thanks again, little one!" She winked at me with a grin. "And Merry Christmas!"

"You too!" I waved at her, then shook my brother's shoulder. "Poe, are dreams real? 'Cause I think I saw one of the gypsies from Toyland!"

Poe looked over his shoulder, but the dancers were already going in the opposite direction. Miss Maz was gone. "I'm sure you did, BB." He gave me another hug. "Tell me all about it in the Falcon."

"Ok!" I gave his cheek a kiss as Rey giggled behind us. "Dorothy was right, Poe. Dreams are fun, but it is nice to be home!"

The End


End file.
